Wooden hut with no toilet classed as second home

Eira Harris and her family have been told this bungalow is unsuitable for letting, but is still classed as a second home

BBC Eira Harris's white wooden bungalow with blue trim, it has a small front garden and is surrounded by fencing — Eira Harris and her family have been told this bungalow is unsuitable for letting, but is still classed as a second home

The owner of a wooden hut with no bathroom or toilet has seen her council tax bill treble after it was deemed to be a second home.

Eira Harris’s family have owned the bungalow in Poppit Sands since the 1950s and used to pay standard council tax on it.

Now it has been classified as a second home by Pembrokeshire council, meaning an extra 200% premium is charged as well, taking the annual bill to almost £4,000.

Mrs Harris, 77, said she was willing to take her fight to court, but the council said the building met the definition as “contained in the act” and is “substantially furnished”.

Although Mrs Harris’s wooden structure has two bedrooms, a living room and a kitchen, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority (PCNPA) advised the family in January that it was “not suitable for residential use of any sort” because of the “lack of bathroom or toilet facilities”.

She said the family was not allowed to let the property as it falls below the required standards and was offered to house Ukrainian families but was rejected for the same reason.

The village with more holiday homes than residents

Second home owners ‘discriminated against’

New rules were introduced by the Welsh government on 1 April 2023 which it said would make it easier for people to afford homes where they grew up.

It gave powers to local authorities to charge up to an extra 300% on top of normal council tax for second home owners.

Eira Harris says she is willing to challenge the decision in court

Eira Harris sitting in front of a window with green gingham curtains. She has short brown hair and is wearing glasses — Eira Harris says she is willing to challenge the decision in court

Mrs Harris said the building had been in her family since the early 1950s and had never been a permanent dwelling.

She added: “We call it a meeting place rather than a house. Nobody has lived here.

“I have a niece who still comes for a fortnight in the summer with her children from Colchester, but the children camp outside.

“They come to us to wash and to wash their clothes and they use the public toilets.”

Mrs Harris and her brothers, Chris and Richard Evans, were hit with the new council tax bill in April.

The bungalow has a living room, kitchen and bedrooms, but no bathroom or toilet

An interior view of the bungalow, showing a table and chair as well as a blue chest of drawers — The bungalow has a living room, kitchen and bedrooms, but no bathroom or toilet

The family have been writing to the council, Valuation Office Agency and PCNPA for months to try and resolve the row.

Mrs Harris said: “We just don’t think the premium tax is relevant to us.

“It’s not a home, it’s a dwelling. A pretty shaky dwelling that has been around a very long time.

“We think it’s very unfair that they don’t have the courtesy to speak to us about it.”

The family have used the bungalow as a “meeting place” for decades

Family photos on the wall of the interior of the bungalow, an over can be seen in the doorway behind — The family have used the bungalow as a “meeting place” for decades

The council said its officers had “continued engagement to ensure an open dialogue”, but it was the Valuation Office Agency’s decision whether to include properties on the council tax list.

It added: “As there is no planning restriction on the property the authority cannot grant the class six exception.

“Therefore it meets the definition contained in the act as highlighted in the council tax list, no-one is resident and it is substantially furnished.”

The Valuation Office Agency said it could not comment on individual cases but explained that properties were liable for council tax if they are for domestic use and “capable of being lived in”.

It added: “If a customer thinks they should not be paying council tax on their property, they are able to contact us and we will look into their specific case.”

The council says the building is “substantially furnished”

Two single beds in the bungalow's bedroom, a bookshelf is on the wall behind them with books on — The council says the building is “substantially furnished”

St Dogmaels councillor Mike James said he would ask officers to visit the property.

He added: “If it’s not habitable I’ll have to ask the county council if it should be charged council tax or not.

“I can certainly ask the officers to come and see for themselves the evidence of what this property is like. A bathroom is an essential for health and safety.”