To think there would be less of a housing crisis if people stopped buying second homes!

[Okunoshima]

Before anyone says anything, I understand that some people have second homes as private rentals and understand the need for rental properties

What I'm talking about is people buying second homes as holiday homes to live in on weekends/holidays/lend out to their friends.

Where I live there are a huge number of houses used solely for this purpose, and a lot of these houses are 2 beds that would make great homes for couples or families to occupy permanently. Instead they sit empty most of the time, while residents are left with the option of trying to buy (not affordable for many) or trying to find something in the tiny pool of private rentals available.

I don't understand why people can't just use hotels/B&Bs etc. They would be contributing to the local economy by doing so, and creating employment.

100% agree with you @Okunoshima

I remember reading a report on this and a follow up article that said each additional property someone purchases (above their own home) causes 2 families a loss of housing - obviously not directly but related to increase housing costs, airbnb, etc. This was not only coast and countryside though those had the biggest impact.

I think somewhere like America r France it's okay.

Somewhere like the UK where housing is in short supply its criminal. At the very least their should be tight rental caps.

It's disgusting that a person in their 30s or 40s on an average wage is unable to rent a small one bed flat in london. That should be a basic, feasible ambition.

I'm from an area with a high proportion of second homes & it really does suck the life out of local communities, whilst pushing prices out of reach of local people.

I don't feel that people's desire not to stay in a B&B/Hotel/ Locally owned self catering should come ahead of what is best for that community. I appreciate it is people's right to own a second home, but morally I find it very hard to stomach.

@Elfieishere

I think if people can afford to buy a second home then fair play to them.

Not everyone wants to stay in a b&b and if they have the money to own a second home then why not.

A B&B is not the only option, you can stay in locally owned self catering. In Cornwall, where I'm from, many peoples' business is dependent on self catering & in most of these cases this does not take away from the local housing market.

I don't think it should be banned, but I think 2nd home ownership should be subject to a punitive rate of council tax, say 10 x the normal rate or something. The extra money raised could be saved to build council houses for local people.

And I think that people who are running genuine holiday lettings, where the property is available for the public to rent for (eg) 46 weeks of the year should be exempt from that as the holiday letting business generates a lot of income in some areas. And there should be an exemption for a period if someone inherits a property, so they have a chance to sell it.

I also think that councils should charge punitive rates of council tax on properties left empty for more than 12 months, unless they are being actively marketed at a realistic price.

The lack of accommodation for rent in some popular areas means that it's difficult to recruit RNLI volunteers and part-time firefighters, because they have to live within a certain distance of their base. The RNLI have contemplated buying properties to rent to volunteers in at least one Cornish village because hardly anyone lives there year-round.

If 2n home ownership was banned outright, there'd be nowhere for people like me to stay when we go on holiday. I don't like staying in hotels, and it's loads more expensive.

@hardknocklife123

Sorry tell me how second homes causes this problem? Genuine question.

In many areas (Cornwall, Lake District etc) chocolate box cottages appeal to wealthy people as second homes - this then pushes the prices up & pushes local people out of those communities.

The village I'm from has such a high proportion of second homes that the 'community' is dead - particularly during the winter. Most locals have left, and those who remain are now without a pub & shop because they cannot be run viably for the whole year. Second home don't only take homes out of the market, but also jobs & services out of the area.

When I'm home (and by that, I mean visiting my family in the area) it's interesting to talk to second home owners who lament the lack of community & closure of local businesses (which helped attract them in the first place) without a hint of irony.

I understand the desire for a holiday home, but I think it's important to recognise the social & economic implications for that area.

I don’t own a second/holiday home but do often stay in these. I
I like a hotel where it’s just DH and I for a couple of nights as we can go out for meals in the evening and then relax in a bar with a couple of drinks but Hotels/BnBs don’t work great with kids.
There’s not enough room, nowhere to relax other than the bedroom, have to go to bed at the same time as your young child.
If we’re having busy days of walking or sightseeing or whatever, we want to be able to relax in private and self cater rather than having to always be on show in somewhere public, such as a restaurant/bar/cafe

Well they’re carving up huge areas of rolling green fields in my part of the world (holiday destination) in order to build more. Hope it’s still worth visiting, I’d hate for the snobs who can’t bear to stay in hotels or B&bs to have to look at great tracts of ugly new builds when they’re down for their holidays.

Haven't RTFT but I agree with a PP who said there should be a limit on the proportion of second homes in an area. It's crazy when you have a village which is 50% or more second homes, or even self-catering holiday lets. The holiday lets bring more ££ into the area than a second home that's in use for 6 weeks a year, but they still have a negative impact on the community.

Well they’re carving up huge areas of rolling green fields in my part of the world (holiday destination) in order to build more. Hope it’s still worth visiting, I’d hate for the snobs who can’t bear to stay in hotels or B&bs to have to look at great tracts of ugly new builds when they’re down for their holidays.

That would definitely put me off. I hate new builds in old villages. Last time we moved house we found a gorgeous cottage in a rural village and found the village had been expanded with new builds and do we didn't buy there..

Not sure what the answer is. We plan to buy a second home as we spend a lot of time holidays in a nice part of the UK for walking but perhaps there should be a cap on how many holiday lets you can have. I don't agree with decimating local communities.

However, I don't believe the housing crisis is as bad as people make out. We have moved house 4 times and not struggled to find something (&each time sold a smaller house, leaving something further down the chain).

However, I don't believe the housing crisis is as bad as people make out. We have moved house 4 times and not struggled to find something (&each time sold a smaller house, leaving something further down the chain)

Maybe you could do some research instead of relying on your own privileged experience? Of course you haven’t struggled, you’ve got money.

St Ives is an interesting example - and Salcombe. In st Ives, there’s an ‘H2’ restriction on many properties. New properties especially, or newly converted.

The problem is, some of these are out of reach for locals. I can think of a 2 bed flat priced at £325k for example. It has been on the market for a long time because it doesn’t appeal to second homers or locals.

There’s a bit of house building going on locally though (at last) and these homes aren’t available as second homes, and there’s a shared ownership scheme for locals.

I’m not sure the H2 restriction was all that successful, I’d be interested to hear whether it helped drive prices down. The properties that don’t sell tend to have H2 restriction.

We plan to buy a second home as we spend a lot of time holidays in a nice part of the UK for walking but perhaps there should be a cap on how many holiday lets you can have. I don't agree with decimating local communities.

Read what you have written. Then cop on to yourself.

It is a huge problem in my coastal community.

Some people are rich and selfish and they will refuse to see it so they don't have to confront the fact that their actions are destroying communities. So long as they are happy........

Maybe you could do some research instead of relying on your own privileged experience? Of course you haven’t struggled, you’ve got money.

Only because if extreme hard work. I come from a working class background, I worked 3 jobs to put myself through university and then did my MSc whilst working full time. I bought my first house that needed doing up and simultaneously worked, studied and renovated. I now live in a farmhouse in the countryside and I'm extremely protective of the village being expanded or the fields being built on. I'm totally against the countryside being taken up.

A big problem is families not staying together. Going round having kids and not staying in the relationship means more houses are needed.

It would be interesting to debate this point without resorting to mud slinging.

Taking the example of St Ives that I gave above, where H2 restrictions were placed on homes years ago, and where prices have continued to skyrocket despite this, leaving some properties unsellable.

What the answer?

Because even if you forcibly removed all holiday properties, bought them from the owner and went on to use them for local families, how would it solve the problem? The huge drop in holiday accommodation woukd lead to fewer visitors, and with a local economy reliant on tourism, many local families would lose the income required to service their accommodation costs.

I honestly think the ‘second homes’ issue is a red herring. The problem is also lack of investment in the local economies, lack of other job opportunities. I have a significant amount of family in Cornwall and the younger generations (30+) have all moved ‘up country.’ Their reasons for moving were nothing to do with house prices and everything to do with wanting better job opportunities, easier commuting, better access to other things like cultural events/shopping. None of them show any eagerness to return - you could literally gift them a house by the sea, but they wouldn’t want to live there.

Second homes that aren’t used for year round rentals should be banned. They are destroying some communities. As for people who don’t like hotels and B&Bs, that ridiculous reason is not good enough for having a second home. Unbelievably selfish attitude.

@Snackasaurus

Whilst I agree to some extent that there's a housing crisis, I think a lot of people who say they can't afford to get on the property ladder could if they chose starter homes instead of 4 bed detached houses on new build estates. My DH and I made a LOT of sacrifices to afford our home; we rarely ate out, we have never been on holiday, most of the things in our home are gifted or second hand. A lot of people I know claiming they can't afford a house (pre covid) used to eat out frequently, go on holidays, weekends away, nights out. They are in designer clothes and drive newish cars...

Not this shit again.

Do you comprehend how ridiculously fast prices have gone up and how wages haven’t kept up?

My PIL bought a lovely 4 bed house in 1997 for 195k in desirable London Borough. It’s now ‘worth’ well in excess of £1m

The house DH and I bought 6 years ago for £385k would now go on the market for £650k.

6 years ago our household income was £70k. Now it’s £95k - hardly proportionate increases.

@Crumbleandcake, it makes no difference how you came by your money or how I came by mine. The fact that we’ve got it insulates us from the harsh reality that people like Graphista experience.

The fact is that if you’re young now it doesn’t matter how hard you work, unless you live in a very cheap part of the country or get parental help, you’re never going to own a house.

What we need is a social housing building programme, removal of right to buy and a punitive stamp duty, capital gains tax and council tax rate on second properties. It wouldn’t solve the problem but it would certainly improve it.

The fact is that if you’re young now it doesn’t matter how hard you work, unless you live in a very cheap part of the country or get parental help, you’re never going to own a house.

This is a really important point. A good salary in many cases is not enough.

‘Second homes’ not being used by the owner but being rented out as businesses are contributing £££ in tax to the treasury, so I can’t see that happening.

Removal of right to buy, absolutely. I grew up in a council house, I benefited from that system. Shared ownership, help to buy schemes, schemes for those who prove local links, absolutely.

To think that local families want to bring up children in tiny nineteenth century cottages without gardens? I struggle to live in one for a week.

I wouldn’t class holiday lets run as a business with year round occupancy as second homes. They definitely contribute to the local economy.

There are people with small children living in high rise flats with no outdoor space, that’s probably a lot worse than that Victorian cottage. It’s that privilege talking again - if you haven’t got a home you’re not fussy about having a garden.

Well some see it as a housing 'crisis', others see it as a healthy market/economy.

I own a second home, because like many others myself and my partner both owned homes when we met.

If house prices were not health/crashed, mortgage companies wouldn't lend, investors woukd snap up property and let it out, thus pushing prices back to reality.

If house prices were not health/crashed, mortgage companies wouldn't lend, investors woukd snap up property and let it out, thus pushing prices back to reality

History doesn’t bear that theory out. When the house market crashed in the early 1990s lenders were offering 100% mortgages. All they’re bothered about is ability to pay, they don’t give a shit about people being in negative equity.

I agree.