Second Homes Review

Accurately classify second homes and apply Council Tax premiums with confidence.

Strengthen housing policy and protect local income

Second homes can reduce housing stock availability for local residents, especially in rural and high-demand areas. With the introduction of new legislation, councils can apply a Council Tax premium of up to 100% on properties identified as second homes, but only if property records are accurate and usage is verified.

Our Second Homes Review helps councils confirm the status of properties classed as second homes, identify misclassifications, and ensure that premiums are applied fairly and lawfully. It is a fully managed service that improves Council Tax income, supports local housing strategy, and provides evidence for change of tax status decisions.

Helping you increase Council Tax accuracy and income

Increase premium income

Apply second home premiums accurately and increase revenue

Improve property classification

Identify and correct mislabelled or outdated records

Reduce incorrect exemptions

Reclassify empty homes or long-term vacant properties where needed

Resident-verified

Occupants are contacted directly to confirm property use and occupancy

Support fair decision-making

Evidence-led results help councils apply policy transparently and consistently

Flexible delivery

Fully managed review with multi-channel contact and optional inspections

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Designed for confidence and compliance

The Second Homes Review combines council-held data with external sources to identify discrepancies and validate occupancy. Our team engages directly with property owners and occupiers via phone, letter, email, or SMS to confirm whether a property is genuinely used as a second home.

Where needed, we can also conduct on-site inspections to verify usage. Every outcome is supported by a clear audit trail, enabling you to confidently make billing decisions and defend them if challenged.

The review increases revenue and helps improve the overall quality of your Council Tax database, strengthening operational performance and strategic planning.

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Supporting councils in practice

“The team delivered a thorough and efficient review process, successfully identifying properties that had previously gone unclassified. Their work directly contributed to increased potential revenue through accurate premium application. It helped that the team had a good understanding of the local authority requirements to achieve these outcomes.”

Harminder Persad

Head of Revenues & Benefits, London Borough of Hounslow
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Why choose Liberata

Liberata has worked with Local Authorities for over 50 years, supporting fair taxation, improved data integrity, and income maximisation. Our Second Homes Review builds on this experience with a service that combines verified outcomes, sensitive communication, and council-specific delivery.

We offer a complete programme of Council Tax reviews, including second homes, empty properties, exemptions, and discounts, to help you manage your Council Tax base more effectively.

This service is part of our On-Demand Support Services for Local Authorities.

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Talk to us about how our Second Homes Review can help you apply premiums fairly and improve the accuracy of Council Tax data.

As a Council we are focused on ensuring that the services delivered are both sustainable and of the highest quality. We are delighted to be working with Liberata to help deliver these services on behalf of our residents and businesses. Liberata stood out with its ability to drive transformational change and improve customer access and digital services.
Richard Baker
Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council
Borough of Broxbourne
Liberata is the ideal delivery partner to help us achieve our aims, whilst ensuring we can drive down processing times and improve the service for our customers. Council tax and business rates collection will improve, ensuring that we have the funds to deliver the vital services that have a positive impact on residents’ lives. We look forward to working closely in partnership with Liberata to help achieve our aims
Rebecca Keene
Broxbourne Borough Council
Eastleigh Borough Council
Eastleigh Borough Council has worked with Liberata for a number of years who undertake the council's empty home reviews, and I must say, their service exceeded all expectations. From start to finish, they demonstrated professionalism, efficiency, and a genuine commitment to addressing this critical issue in our community. Thanks to Liberata, the council has been able to maximise our empty home bonus year on year. This positive impact on our community cannot be overstated.
Kerrie Thomas
Eastleigh Borough Council
Leicester City Council
The RV Finder service from Liberata has really helped us ensure that our data is as accurate as possible and, when the VOA has processed the outstanding cases, I fully expect to see more than £1,000,000 of additional RV. The “risk and reward” model works well and the Council only has to pay for their success and the service is something that we will use on a regular basis.
Steve King
Leicester City Council
Liberata has been empowered to create a seamless integration with technology to digitally transform the Revenues and Benefits service whilst trying to protect local jobs. The joint strategy has helped to deliver innovative solutions that have exceeded expectations, whilst providing savings to the authority. This surge in digital engagement has helped deliver strong year one outturn with electronic billing and the technology will enable us to show improvements in the benefits speed of processing and in Council Tax processing of moves, discounts and exemptions.
Andy Stevens
Swindon Borough Council
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