REMOVING a council tax discount for long-term empty properties could provide Blaenau Gwent council with an additional £170,000.

Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council’s full council is due to decide whether to get rid of a rule which gives owners of properties which have been unoccupied for more than six months and are substantially unfurnished a discount on their council tax.

Currently class A and B properties – holiday homes and second homes – do not get a council tax discount, while class C properties are granted a 50 per cent discount.

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At the end of September, 1,037 houses in Blaenau Gwent benefitted from the empty property discount.

Blaenau Gwent council is one of only four councils that still offers this discount, and according to a report, it is expected that all Welsh councils will scrap it from April 2020.

A council report the change would result in an extra £650,000 income from council tax per year, as well as an annual reduction in grant funding grant of £480,000 - resulting in an additional £170,000 a year.

The Welsh Government is yet to announce their financial settlement to local government, however it is expected that they will make an amendment to no longer take into account the discounts on council tax for empty properties.

If the council decided not to remove the discount, it would create a shortfall of £480,000.

The proposed changes will be decided by full council on Thursday, December 12.