Coastal communities have been “irrevocably carved” by the rise of holiday homes, he warned, as new figures show that more than 17,000 properties in England have been “rented out” for short-term rent since Covid-19.
The poll came after lawmakers and campaigns warned that vital public services – including schools, trains and buses – were in danger of disappearing from tourist hotspots due to a shortage of affordable housing.
“We are entering a new chapter in the housing crisis, where communities are being carved out in a way that is irreversible,” said Labor MP Luke Pollard. “In some places we are beyond the turning point.”
The Covid pandemic has “triggered” the housing crisis in many rural and coastal communities, Pollard said, as wealthy outsiders grab holiday homes, take properties off the market and push prices beyond the reach of locals.
This week, residents of the coastal town of Whitby in Yorkshire were the last to express their anger over the housing crisis when they voted overwhelmingly in favor of restrictions on second homes.
Housing prices in seaside resorts rose by an average of 13.9% last year, outpacing national growth of 9.9%, according to real estate website Rightmove. All but one of the 10 areas where house prices have doubled in the last decade are by the sea.
Whitby has 20 times more Airbnb listings than properties available for purchase in Rightmove, according to a Guardian study – 1,349 short-term rents compared to 67 homes for sale.
There were more than 13,000 holiday vacations online in Cornwall in April – compared to 3,103 properties for sale. The homes offered in these areas are usually far beyond the local average wage.
Julian Hermann, a former independent leader of the Cornwall council, said the loss of permanent residences in the area he represents – Roseland, south of Truro – was “stunning”.
A graph showing the number of second homes in England that have been converted into holiday rentals since the start of the Covid pandemic.
Herman said: “Basically, this means the end of these communities, because people cannot afford to live in them – the end of the traditions and culture that have connected these communities together.”
He added that tourism in the region faces a bleak future without further government intervention, warning: “The golden goose will be killed”.
Second homeowners are seeking to take advantage of the boom of home holidays during the pandemic.
Owners of 17,135 second homes in England have “turned over” their properties to become holiday rentals from March 2020, according to a study for the Guardian by real estate adviser Altus Group. More than a third of these properties are in the south-west of England.
In many desirable places, most properties are now second homes. In Salcomb, Devon, 57% of the properties are holiday homes, with 80% in Hope Cove and 95% in Thurlestone Sands.
Anthony Mangle, a Conservative MP in the area, warned that doctors, nurses and teachers are among those devalued by the housing crisis, which has become “significantly more worrying” since 2020.
Under pressure from lawmakers, including conservatives in the southwest, the government has tried to close a loophole that allows homeowners to avoid paying municipal tax if they can show that the property has been available for rent for at least 140 days. the year – even if it is never rented out.
Vacation homeowners are entitled to claim 100% of the small business allowance if their property has a rental value of less than £ 12,000, which means they do not pay business rates or municipal tax.
From next April, second-hand homeowners in England will have to prove that holiday properties are rented out for a minimum of 70 days a year in order to have access to small business benefits.
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But activists want ministers to go further. The Welsh government plans to introduce a 300% municipal tax premium on second homes and make it harder for these properties to qualify for business rates instead of municipal tax.
One idea is for a “last shop in the village fund”, where councils can charge a fee for empty secondary homes to support dwindling public services such as post offices, pubs, buses and pharmacies.
Dan Wilson Crowe, deputy director of the Generation Rent housing campaign group, said: “It’s not a good place for Whitby to have a hectic tourist trade if no one can afford to live there. It is essential that the newly built houses actually provide housing for local residents, but without additional measures, potential second-hand homeowners will simply grab existing properties.
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