Councillors have set the ball rolling on efforts that could double the council tax premium on holiday home owners.

Since 2018 a 50% levy has been slapped on council tax bills for owners of second homes in Gwynedd, with some of the extra cash earmarked to help young people secure a home by building and bringing empty properties back into use.

But despite fears over the sheer scale of second home owners exploiting a “loophole” meaning they not only avoid paying the premium but any council tax at all, councillors have overwhelmingly backed exploring doubling the premium to 100%.

The deputy leader, Cllr Dafydd Meurig, proposed during Thursday’s full council meeting that any decision on the future of the 50% premium on second and long-term empty properties should be delayed until the cabinet had explored its options.

“What’s clear from discussions with colleagues and the clear calls from our own communities is that the premium needs reconsidering,” said Cllr Meurig, who stressed they would continue to lobby on government ministers on the existing “loophole.”

“As we know there’s a housing crisis and we’re losing our housing stock to second homes, leaving people unable to afford to buy in their own communities.

“The cabinet has published a piece of work to try and control short-term holiday lets through taxation and planning, the evidence is there now and the Scottish Government has already started to legislate in this field.

“I would like to propose an amendment, mindful that we can’t make any changes without a consultation, but that we delay until the cabinet can consider the appropriateness of raising the premium up to 100% and consult on this basis before bringing new proposals to full council by March 2021.”

He added that the cabinet was also preparing an “ambitious and exciting” housing Action Plan by investing £77million and taking advantage of the existing second homes premium fund.

Cllr Peter Read, leader of the council’s WNP group, said that many local people are “angry that some who can afford two houses are avoiding paying taxes.”

He added his fear, however, that raising the premium to 100% would end up “persuading more to flip” or to claim properties in Gwynedd as their main residences rather than areas such as Manchester, urging pressure on the valuation office to “close the loophole.”

The report confirmed that between April 2014 and October 2020, a total of 1,967 Gwynedd properties had successfully transferred from the council tax list to non-domestic rates by being classified by the Valuation Office Agency as self-catering accommodation.

Such properties can be “flipped” to paying non-domestic rates if it can be proved that the unit is available for up to 140 days in a year and actually let for at least 70.

But with most self-catering holiday accommodation being eligible for Small Businesses Rates Relief, it often results in their owners making no contribution at all to local taxes.

As a result, in 2019 it was noted that Gwynedd Council was missing out on £2m a year in potential revenue as a result of such transfers.

But showing no signs of slowing down, since April 2020 alone 280 transfers have been made which the report suggested to be linked with ensuring eligibility for the recent Covid-19 business grants worth £10,000 each.

Members approved Cllr Meurig’s amendment by 53 votes to one, with no abstentions, with the cabinet set to commence the consultation process during its meeting on December 15.