UP to double the amount of council tax could be charged on homes in Newport that have been empty for two years or more, if council proposals are introduced.
Details of the proposals have been published for public consultation, and are being looked at as a means of tackling the issue of vacant properties, of which Newport currently has more than 2,500.
Councils have discretionary powers under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 to charge extra council tax, or premiums, on long-term empty dwellings, defined as those that have been unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for a continuous period of at least one year.
If implemented, the proposal would represent a major shift in the council's approach to charges on empty properties.
Currently, long term empty dwellings receive a 50 per cent discount on council tax. In order to apply premiums, that discount would be cancelled, bringing up the council tax charges to 100 per cent.
Premiums would then be added, and can be up to another 100 per cent, bringing the total charges payable to a maximum of 200 per cent.
Such premiums can be added over a period of time and can be of any percentage, up to the maximum of 100 per cent.
The council is stressing that empty homes that are exempt from council tax would not be subject to premiums. Examples include where the resident has gone into a care home, or lives elsewhere to receive care, or where a resident has died and probate has not yet been awarded.
Some homes are exempt from premiums. Those being marketed for sale or rent at reasonable prices would be exempt for a further year.
Annexes forming part of a home, and homes vacated by services personnel living in armed forces accommodation are permanently exempt.
A right of appeal will also apply if a premium would cause what the consultation document describes as "unacceptable hardship" to the owner.
Money raised from premiums can be used to help the council bring empty homes back into use to increase the amount of available housing, something it sees as an important means toward improving the city's environment and the lives of its population.
The consultation document - and a questionnaire - can be found at www.newport.gov.uk/_dc/static/surveys/tax_premiums_consultation.htm
The consultation closes on Monday October 31.