Nearly 11,000 properties have become second homes or seasonal rentals between 2021 and 2022, the equivalent of around 29 per day.
According to Generation Rent, which collated municipal tax data from the Department for Leveling Up and figures on commercial vacation rentals from the Valuation Office Agency, found that the number of second homes increased from 3,556 to 256,913 between 2021 and 2022. .
The number of vacation rentals over the same period increased from 7,153 to 73,264.
That equates to about 10,709 homes, according to Generation Rent.
Generation Rent said this continues the trend of homes leaving the residential sector, noting that in 2020 and 2021 vacation rentals increased by 7,102 and another 807 second homes.
In total, between 2019 and 2022, the number of vacation rentals and second homes increased by 25,217. The campaign group said this has led to greater competition for leftover properties and additional pressure on housing prices and rents.
He added that in some areas this had led to a loss of more than 2% of the housing stock between 2019 and 2022.
The national effect
Leicester was the hardest hit, mainly due to second homes, with the city’s housing stock down 2.2% in 2020.
This is followed by Scarborough, South Hams in Devon, the London Borough of Southwark and Copeland in Cumbria, all of which have seen more than one per cent of housing stock move into second homes and holiday rentals in the space of three years.
Recent reports have suggested the government is considering requiring holiday rentals to need planning permission.
Generation Rent noted that a similar policy is in place in London, where houses rented short-term for more than 90 days in any given year require planning permission. However, he said this was not well enforced with 15% of Airbnb listings in London available for more than 90 days.
Generation Rent said Rachael Maskell was taking a “different” approach and presenting a bill to the Commons which would give local authorities the power to require holiday rental operators to obtain a license in order to rent property to tourists.
Dan Wilson Craw, Deputy Director of Generation Rent, said: “High nightly rents and a lack of taxes and regulations have fueled an explosion of vacation rentals at the expense of people who just need a place to live. In many parts of the country, this forces people to leave the places where they grew up, leading to labor shortages.
“The government is beginning to recognize the need to intervene. However, it is unclear whether the planning changes are the answer given their limited impact in London. The permanent nature of planning permission would also make properties designated as vacation rentals much more valuable than other properties.
He added: ‘Instead, councils should have the power to require holiday rentals to have a time-limited license and to limit their number in the event of a severe shortage of accommodation. This would be a more flexible and responsive approach than using the planning system, and would be easier for councils to apply.
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