Local authorities in Scotland should be allowed to charge higher council tax rates on second homes and holiday houses, a committee of MSPs said today.

Members of Holyrood's Rural Affairs and Environment Committee have been looking at rural housing.

Their report, published today, highlighted that "much of rural Scotland faces a serious affordable housing problem".

Among their recommendations, the committee called on the Scottish Government to extend local authorities powers to vary council tax rates for second homes or holiday homes, to allow them to charge increased rate for these properties in areas where there is a serious housing shortage.

Since 2004 authorities have been allowed to discount the council tax rate on second homes by between 10% and 50%, rather than simply having a flat rate discount of 50% for these properties.

That power was given to councils on the condition that the cash raised from reducing the discount would be used to fund affordable housing in their area.

Most rural councils already apply a reduced discount, using the money to support affordable housing.

But last year Highland Council chiefs said councils should have the option of taxing second homes and holiday homes at up to 200% of the council tax rate, arguing this could more than double the income from second homes and could fund more affordable housing.

Committee convener Maureen Watt said it was clear from their inquiry that "more needs to be done to give local authorities more powers to deal with pressures caused by a lack of rural housing in specific geographical areas".

And she argued: "This includes the possibility of allowing them to increase council tax charges on second homes."

In the report the committee made it clear that "many more houses need to be built in rural Scotland, in small towns and villages and in the countryside too".

But they complained there was an "over cautious planning culture in much of rural Scotland" which meant there was a presumption against developments, including housing developments, in many areas.

MSPs on the committee said they agreed with the Scottish Government that a "cultural change" was necessary and called on ministers to clarify how they intended to discourage such "restrictive local planning policies".

The committee also urged councils to provide some more land for housing if possible, stating: "The lack of zoned land being made available for affordable housing is one of the biggest difficulties facing the rural housing market."