Responding to Wednesday’s Spring Budget, delivered by Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt, CEO of short let platform SevenStays, Charlotte Thursfield, commented:

“The Government has been open about wanting to clamp down on holiday lets for a while, particularly in the South. The abolishment of the furnished holiday lets regime is set to add yet more pressure to holiday let owners who are already feeling the effects of high mortgage rates and energy prices, with little impact on the key issue in the private rental sector: lack of supply.

“The tax breaks made short term holiday letting a viable alternative to renting to long term tenants and scrapping these benefits is unlikely to make any noticeable difference to the supply of long-term rental properties in the UK. Whilst we understand concerns from locals looking to rent properties in coastal holiday let hotspots such as Cornwall, 5.7% of properties in the South West alone are classed as vacant (meaning there are no usual residents living there with no indication of it being used for short term lets) and a crackdown on these properties would have had more of an impact on available supply for locals in these areas.

“Likewise, the government’s failure to address the estimated 1.4 million vacant properties across the UK and build enough housing to meet demand has meant that holiday let owners are left feeling the pinch and this may encourage more landlords to leave the market altogether. Ultimately holiday lets help drive a big portion of local economies through tourism and their value has been somewhat overlooked.”