MORE than £24-million has been raised through second homes premium council tax during its first year.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request to Cornwall Council has revealed how much council tax it has raised from the 100 per cent premium on second homes following its introduction a year ago.

The FOI has also revealed the parishes with the highest concentration of second homes.

The 100 per cent council tax premium on second homes in Cornwall was officially introduced and came into effect on April 1, 2025. The policy means second-home owners are now liable to pay double the standard rate of council tax on their properties.

The premium was made possible under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, which granted local authorities the powers to charge up to double council tax on furnished properties that are not a primary residence.

According to the data, Cornwall has just under 289,000 dwellings as a whole, with 10,740 of those being classed as second homes.

As of March 7, 2026 the total amount of additional revenue raised from the premium element of the second homes premium was £24,725,682.05.

Despite the impressive sum, this is even estimated to rise to £28,133,636.27 in the current financial year (2026/27). These figures include parish and police precepts which Cornwall Council passes on to the relevant bodies.

Unsurprisingly, a small number of parishes account for a large share of second homes with popular spots such as Rock, Polzeath, Port Isaac, St Mawes and Polruan containing the bulk of such properties.

The parish with the highest percentage of second homes is St Minver Lowlands with 35.9 per cent – 419 second homes among 1,168 properties. It also has the highest number of the most expensive Band H properties – 43.

Highest concentrations of second homes by parish:

  • St Minver Lowlands (Rock, Trebetherick) – 35.9 per cent, 419 second homes out of a total of 1,168 properties
  • St Minver Highlands (Polzeath, Port Quin) – 29.2 per cent, 187 second homes out of a total of 641 properties
  • St Endellion (Port Isaac, Port Gaverne) — 27.4 per cent, 186 second homes out of a total of 678 properties
  • St Just in Roseland (St Mawes) – 27.4 per cent, 231 second homes out of a total of 844 properties
  • Lanteglos (Polruan) – 26.1 per cent, 175 second homes out of a total of 670 properties
  • Gerrans (Portscatho) – 24.3 per cent, 148 second homes out of a total of 608 properties
  • St Merryn (Harlyn Bay, Constantine Bay) – 23.9 per cent, 296 second homes out of a total of 1,236 properties
  • Padstow – 23.2 per cent, 432 second homes out of a total of 1,863 properties
  • Maker with Rame (Kingsand, Cawsand) – 22.8 per cent, 166 second homes out of a total of 729 properties
  • St Anthony (Flushing, Gillan) – 21.9 per cent, 23 second homes out of a total of 105 properties.