Council tax for Cornwall second homes changed significantly from 1 April 2025. If you own a property in Cornwall that is not your main residence, you are likely now paying double the standard council tax rate. Understanding what applies, what the exceptions are and what your options are is worth some time.
What changed and when
Under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, local authorities in England were given the power to charge a 100% premium on council tax for second homes. Cornwall Council voted unanimously to implement this premium, with effect from 1 April 2025. The result is that second-home owners in Cornwall now pay 200% of the standard council tax band rate: the standard charge plus a 100% premium on top of it.
This is not an increase in the standard rate. It is an additional charge applied specifically to properties classified as second homes. A Band D property that previously attracted a standard annual charge now attracts twice that amount.
What counts as a second home
For council tax purposes, a second home is a furnished property that is not anyone's sole or main residence. If you own a cottage in Rock or a townhouse in Fowey that you visit throughout the year but is not where you live, it is a second home. The furnished condition matters. An unfurnished unoccupied property falls under a different set of rules relating to empty homes.
Exceptions to the premium
The premium does not apply in all cases. Cornwall Council recognises the following exceptions. Annexes that form part of, or are treated as part of, a main dwelling are excluded. Job-related accommodation, where occupying the property is a condition of employment, is excluded. Properties with a planning condition preventing continuous occupation of more than 28 days, specifying holiday use only, or otherwise restricting permanent residential use are also excluded. Occupied caravan pitches and boat moorings are not subject to the premium.
There are also two time-limited exceptions. A 12-month exception applies to properties that are actively marketed for sale, and to properties actively marketed for let as a sole or main residence. Evidence of active marketing is required: a listing on a recognised platform with a verifiable start date. A property that has not been listed, or where the listing lapsed, will not qualify.
The holiday let route
Properties that operate as genuine commercial holiday lets may qualify for business rates rather than council tax, which changes the calculation significantly. To qualify for business rates, the property must have been available to let commercially for at least 140 nights in the past 12 months and will continue to be available for at least 140 nights in the coming year, and must have been actually let commercially for a minimum of 70 nights in the past 12 months.
The Valuation Office Agency, not Cornwall Council, determines whether a property meets these criteria. If your property qualifies and is reclassified to business rates, you may also be eligible for small business rate relief, which reduces or eliminates the bill for properties with a rateable value below £15,000. Properties under £12,000 rateable value may attract 100% relief.
It is worth noting that the Furnished Holiday Let income tax regime was abolished in April 2025. The specific income tax benefits of that scheme no longer exist. The business rates route for council tax purposes is a separate matter and remains available where the letting criteria are genuinely met.
What this means in practice
For owners who use their Cornwall property for personal visits and do not let it commercially, the additional cost is real and not avoidable through any simple mechanism. Cornwall Council was explicit in designing this measure, and in approving it unanimously, that the intention was to apply it broadly to genuinely private second homes.
The practical implications are worth addressing directly. This is an ongoing annual cost increase that should factor into ownership decisions. For some owners, it will change the economics of holding a property. For others, it is a cost of ownership that is absorbed. If you are considering whether to let your property commercially to qualify for the business rates route, the letting criteria are specific and require genuine commercial activity, not nominal availability.
If you believe your property qualifies for an exception or for business rates, contact Cornwall Council's council tax team and, if seeking reclassification to business rates, the Valuation Office Agency. Keep evidence of any exception claim: for properties marketed for sale or let, this means copies of listings with dates.