Whitby: second home owner says budget was 'utterly boring'

Fiona Wilson, 66, and her husband, David, 68, bought a seaside property in Whitby, in 2010.

Initially it was used as a rental property then in 2023 they made it their second home.

Earlier this year the retired couple were told the council tax on the property is set to double in April 2025 - to nearly £4,000 a year.

At that point the couple began considering selling the three-bed property due to the extra costs.

David Wilson (Image: Fiona Wilson/SWNS) Today's (Wednesday, October 30) budget announcement revealed capital gains tax will rise from 10 per cent to 18 per cent on the lower rate and from 20 per cent to 24 per cent on the higher rate.

But there will be no increase on the 24 per cent capital gains tax for second properties which means Fiona and David are not impacted.

Fiona, a former teacher, said: "Capital gains tax is going up but not on residential properties.

"I was expecting I would be rampaging.

"The decision we were going to make if it went higher was we were going to sell it between now and April.

"We don't know what we're going to do with the property.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves leaves 11 Downing Street, London, with her ministerial red box before delivering her Budget in the Houses of Parliament (Image: Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire) "The reason they haven't increased it is because they want people to sell second homes. If they had raised it people would hold on to them.

"They want people to sell second homes to put more homes back on the market.

"It hasn't changed anything for us all.

"It's robbed me of an hour of my life.

"It was utterly boring."

Whitby where the couple bought the property (Image: SWNS) Fiona and husband David, a former pharmacist, deliberately bought the second home to be a source of second income - then they would move in when they were retired.

The couple paid low tax while it was being rented out thanks to 100 per cent business rate relief.

When the couple finished working, they decided they wanted to keep the cottage for themselves rather than continue to let it out.

But they then discovered the tax - which was £1,800 a year - is set to rise to nearly £4,000 a year in April 2025 as North Yorkshire Council brings in a 'second home premium' charge of 100 per cent as part of the Levelling Up Act (2023).

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They planned to wait for the budget announcement to help them decide whether they would sell up or keep it.

And after today's announcement, they're still left unsure surrounding the decision.

Fiona said: "It's a balancing act, is it cheaper to keep it or sell it?

"Which is the least bad scenario?"