London’s boroughs should be able to charge more than double council tax on second homes to free them up for people to live in, Sir Sadiq Khan has said.
The Labour Mayor of London suggested he wanted councils in the capital to have more powers to ensure second homes and empty investment properties are in use.
Speaking to LBC, Sir Sadiq was asked about measures to tackle the housing crisis in London.
When asked about councils around the UK which charge double council tax on empty second homes, he told the broadcaster: “That’s not enough.
“I want councils to have the power to charge much more for leaving your property vacant.”
He pointed to flats in Nine Elms, south west London, as an example of properties “built like gold bricks investment”.
Sir Sadiq said: “They’ve not been lived in, because those who bought it know equity will go up and the price of the flat will go up, and they don’t need to live there.”
He added: “Wandsworth, great council, the max they can charge is double council tax.
“I am not being funny, if you can afford a flat and leave it empty, you can pay double council tax.
“I think boroughs should be allowed to charge much, much more. We’re lobbying the Government to give councils more powers to dis-incentivise leaving a property empty.”
The London Mayor last week announced plans to “actively explore” building on some of London’s green belt in a bid to fix the capital’s housing crisis.
The announcement marked a change in stance for Sir Sadiq, who previously argued against releasing green belt land while there are still previously developed brownfield sites available.
