A London borough has warned it is seeing homeowners attempting to avoid double council tax payments after new rules were brought in.
Westminster Council is meeting with the government’s National Fraud Initiative in a bid to crackdown on people who do not register their property correctly.
It comes after the town hall doubled payments for some residents and property owners in a measure designed to help ease the housing crisis.
Since April 1, owners of homes that have been unoccupied for more than one year, and properties that are considered second homes, have been charged twice the current council tax rate.
Westminster also applies a premium of 200% on homes that have not been lived in for more than five years and 300% on homes empty for over a decade.
But council leader Adam Hug said there has been a “significant increase” in the number of people trying to dodge the charges by falsely reporting their home as occupied.
He said: “While we are hugely in favour of the empty property premium, and indeed the second homes premium, we have found a significant increase in owners trying to evade the additional costs by reporting the property as either not empty, not a second home, or - most commonly - claiming a single person discount.”
Some 4,000 properties are registered as second homes in Westminster and 1,300 as empty homes.
But the council believes there are many more. Its officers have found at least 11,000 properties in the borough unaccounted for.
Mr Hug added: “It is challenging for officers to evidence that the property is indeed being used as a second home, especially if that person's primary residence is outside the borough.
“For both these issues we are meeting with the government’s National Fraud Initiative.”
Mr Hug said the borough also wants the government to change the law to allow it to charge council tax based on an empty property’s value, rather than its council tax band.
The Labour Mayor of London said he wanted local authorities in the capital to have more powers to ensure second homes and empty investment properties are in use.
Mr Hug added: “In April this year, our Empty Homes Officers took the Ministry of Housing on a walkabout to experience firsthand the obstacles we face.
“We hope that this positive link will lead to a welcome change to housing policy and we are expecting Ministers to come back to us with their review changes over the coming months.
“By bringing empty properties back into use, we provide more housing for families, reduce the burden of temporary accommodations, and preserve the unique character that makes Westminster a dynamic place to live.”
Second home owners living in Westminster because of the terms of their job, for example they are a caretaker or a member of the armed services, do not have to pay the extra council tax charges.
However, residents who are living in a second central London property because it is “convenient” for their place of work will have to pay the extra charges.
The plan is also in place in Wandsworth and Hackney.
Wandsworth and Westminster boroughs both set the lowest council tax in England, with average Band D households paying £990.07 and £1,017.18 a year respectively.
