Nearly 11,500 homes flipped to holiday lets as staycations soar
Almost 11,500 second homes in England have been flipped to become commercial premises for holidays to cash in on the staycation boom, according to new research from Altus Group.
The findings show that 67,578 homes in England are now classified as holiday homes as of August this year, after they were flipped to become commercial premises. This has grown by more than a fifth from the start of the pandemic, when there were 56,102 in March last year.
On the back of record visitor numbers in Cornwall and Devon, 3,883 homes in the South West have been flipped since the the start of the pandemic.
Almost 11,500 second homes in England have been flipped to become commercial premises for holidays to cash in on the staycation boom, according to new research from Altus Group.
The findings show that 67,578 homes in England are now classified as holiday homes as of August this year, after they were flipped to become commercial premises. This has grown by more than a fifth from the start of the pandemic, when there were 56,102 in March last year.
On the back of record visitor numbers in Cornwall and Devon, 3,883 homes in the South West have been flipped since the the start of the pandemic.
Around 96% of holiday homes in England are covered by the small business rates regime, meaning they can pay little to no property taxes.
However, the government said in March that it would legislate to tighten the rules for second property owners in England, so that they will only be able register for business rates if their properties are genuine holiday lets.
Holiday homes were entitled to grants worth £552.2m last spring to support non-essential retail, hospitality, leisure, personal care and accommodation sectors at the start of the pandemic, while top-up grants worth a further £256.8m were made available in January.
“Restart grants” announced at this year’s Budget provided further funding of £522.3m, taking total grant support to £1.3bn, according to Altus Group’s annual business rates review.
Robert Hayton, UK president of Altus Group, said: “The grants for second homeowners will have been far more lucrative than ‘business as usual’ for many, especially in the off-seasons, while there is a pivot towards holiday lets as rental prices boom in hotspots.”
To send feedback, e-mail pui-guan.man@eg.co.uk or tweet @PuiGuanM or @EGPropertyNews
Image © Tim Hill Pixabay
