Anybody own a holiday let?

[Phil Pascoe]

As of April 2021- when the council last issued an official report- there were 2,599 empty, or, void properties in Cornwall. Thirty-eight percent of them were in one of the poorest parts of the Duchy, which includes Camborne, Pool and Redruth ...

That's probably more worrying than holiday homes (although there are two within 200yds of me that are each occupied for two weeks of the year).

 

[Cobbs]

As of April 2021- when the council last issued an official report- there were 2,599 empty, or, void properties in Cornwall. Thirty-eight percent of them were in one of the poorest parts of the Duchy, which includes Camborne, Pool and Redruth ...

That's probably more worrying than holiday homes (although there are two within 200yds of me that are each occupied for two weeks of the year).

Any idea who owns them? Or for that matter, how many holiday/second homes there are? I'll warrant it's significantly more of the latter. And just because there are two problems, it doesn't make one of them morally acceptable.

 

[Jameshow]

Probably going to get battered for this, but IMHO, there should be no such things as holiday lets or "second homes". All they effectively do is put up the prices of property and take housing stock out of the housing stock, if you see what I mean. I have no problem at all with people owning more than one property, but if they do, they should be compelled to rent out the "spares" on a long-term basis.
In lots of the more scenic parts of the country a huge proportion of the houses/flats/whatever are owned by people who leave them empty for large parts of the year, while locals struggle to find anything to rent or buy. Second homes in particular are usually owned by people outside of the area who object to new houses being built and spoiling "their" view, when they are the very people who cause the problem of insufficient housing. If you want to visit an area, do so by all means, but stay in a hotel or bed and breakfast, you'll almost certainly save money and be employing the locals at the same time - win, win. Also of course, as others have pointed out, if you're the landlord, it will probably be less stressful in the long run to have a long-term tenant.

 

[Doug71]

Funnily enough I have been over in Whitby today at a friends 'second home', they say it's looking like it will be going on the market as Scarborough council are going to be one of the first in the country to bring in a 100% premium on holiday home council tax bills.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I worked part time with a chap who was involved with the 2011 cencus. He told me that around the Boscastle/Tintagel area 60% of properties were unoccupied. They should pay three or four times the going rate and the money used to subsidise the rates of small shops etc. which are closing from lack of footfall.

 

[Cobbs]

The problem with increasing the amount of council tax paid is that it just makes a second home more aspirational - a bit like having a Ferrari parked on your drive shows off how much you're worth - far better to just ban the practice outright and increase the availability for the locals.

 

[Jones]

The problem with increasing the amount of council tax paid is that it just makes a second home more aspirational - a bit like having a Ferrari parked on your drive shows off how much you're worth - far better to just ban the practice outright and increase the availability for the locals.

And people will go on holiday where?

 

[Terry - Somerset]

That some with capital (high earners, sale of business, inheritance etc) decide to purchase property is no surprise. Property has been a fairly safe store of value with potential for growth. Interest rates since 2009 have been ~1% until recently.

That councils should charge a council tax premium for second homes to subsidise services in often economically deprived areas is understandable and reasonable.

The qualities that make many second home areas attractive are often unattractive to business - relatively poor communications (road, rail, air) + recruitment and retention of quality staff. Younger local folk with talent and ability move away in search of opportunity.

Those remaining tend to be older retired fed up with the rat race, or in relatively mundane lower paid local jobs. Cornwall (for instance) is not a hot bed of entrepreneurial endeavour, but it can be (speaking as an older retired) a very pleasant place to live.

Restricting second home ownership may improve the supply of housing for locals, but diminish (limited) second home owner and tourist spend to the detriment of the local economy.