A SERIES of measures to increase the income of cash-strapped West Devon Borough Council this week came under fire from letting and estate agents.

The council says the measures will protect the most vulnerable people in West Devon from having to pay more towards their council tax bill in 2013/14. They include scrapping the 10% council tax discount for second home owners.

But there is also a suggestion that could prove costly to landlords and people moving house — a proposal to reduce the vacant dwelling exemption from council tax from six months to one.

Around 2,000 working age households in the borough, who currently claim housing benefit, faced a cut of up to 25% with the benefit system due to be abolished by the Government next April. The council also loses more than £500,000 in Government funding when the system ends.

The council's resources committee has drawn up proposals to generate revenue to offset the reduction in Government funding and support people in low income households — pensioners are protected from any changes to the level of council tax benefit they currently receive.

There are currently 564 properties in West Devon classed as second homes — scrapping the discount would generate some £80,925.

There are also proposals to change discounts given to people who own uninhabitable or vacant properties, termed class A.

A 50% council tax premium would be charged on properties that remain empty for more than two years to encourage them to be brought back into use. There are currently 50 empty properties in the borough in this category, generating an income of approximately £36,301.

But the biggest income would be gained by the proposal to cut the 'class C exemption' from six months to one month. This mainly happens if a property has been sold and the owner moves out, when a property is between tenancies or when a property has been purchased and the new owner has not moved in.

There are currently 334 homes in West Devon which have applied for this exemption — bringing the limit down to one month would net the council some £217,000.

Letting agent Glenda Bassett, of GB Properties, said: 'I think this suggestion is absolutely ridiculous and totally unreasonable — a month is far too short a time to be exempt.

'It's not always possible to find suitable tenants within a month anyway, and landlords often need time between lets to carry out repairs or renovations.

'There is a very limited stock of affordable properties to rent so the council is reliant on private landlords — they should be thinking a bit more about how they approach this situation, instead of making it more difficult for landlords.'

James Stevens, of Stevens, a letting and estate agent in Okehampton, said he was 'very surprised' at the move.

'A month isn't a long time and if they were going to change it, I would have thought three months would have been more reasonable,' he said.

'It's a concern from both a seller's and a landlord's point of view. There are a lot of empty properties around and panic does set in when you get to the end of that six-month period — I think this is frightening, if I am honest.

'A lot of people think of landlords as wealthy people, but many are only renting because they have been unable to sell, and they are just scraping by with the rent covering their mortgages.'

A spokesman for the council said: 'Like all local authorities, we have been given the power to remove Class C exemption to help reduce the budget gap and protect frontline services.

'Nationally, some councils are choosing to remove the Class C exemption completely. However, West Devon are proposing to keep a one-month exemption to help landlords in the turnover period between tenancies, whilst encouraging properties back on to the market, as soon as possible. We will be writing to all households and landlords affected by the Class C exemption to explain the proposed changes.'

The council will also apply for extra funding from the Department for Communities and Local Government, to help with the transition to a localised council tax support scheme. This funding is only available to councils who protect the most vulnerable.

Cllr Philip Sanders, chairman of the resources committee, said: 'Following the Secretary of State's announcement, I am pleased that as a council we have been able to find a way to deliver a scheme for the coming year which will minimise the impact on our poorest residents.

'This also avoids penalising those in work on low incomes.'

The draft council tax scheme will be put before the full council at its next meeting on Tuesday, December 11.