Second homes restrictions: Common sense in England, racist in Wales

Stephen Price

Across the whole of the UK, councils are finally facing up to the pressures on housing and communities caused by empty homes, AirBnBs and second homes.

In places as diverse as Norfolk, St Ives, Whitby and Tenby, local people’s voices are at last being heard, and council tax premiums and more restrictive measures are beginning to be introduced.

But here in Wales, and despite claiming to have unparalleled and groundbreaking measures in place, we must always know our place.

We must tread very carefully lest we are accused of being racist against poor rich English folk, and because (thankfully for them) we might take down a few Welsh people with them.

‘Oh but won’t you think of the diversifying Welsh speaking farmers?'

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Following our lead

Seaside towns including Scarborough and Whitby were among the first in England to double council tax under changes enabled through the UK Government’s levelling up bill.

Councillors said the rise of Airbnb and other rental sites was “tearing the heart out of communities,” as they voted to introduce a 100% premium on owners of second homes in North Yorkshire.

In Whitby, about 28% of properties are holiday homes. Estate agents said that as many as three-quarters of new developments in the town were being sold as short-term lets or to investors.

Janet Jefferson, a North Yorkshire independent councillor, said she was dealing with “constant calls” from residents being evicted from properties that “have suddenly become holiday homes”.

“They are getting rid of people that have rented for years because they can make more money,” she said.

Jefferson said houses in her coastal ward were being turned into holiday homes “every day” without the need for planning permission, adding: “It’s affecting our communities. It’s breaking up our communities.”

Similarly, when speaking to the BBC about the situation in Norfolk, Megan Denton, who lives in a rented property in Cromer with her son Hugo, said: "Prices have risen a lot. A one bedroom house is at least £800 a month to rent. Buying here is really tricky too.

"People just seem to take and take. They have these homes which they don't live in which prevents people [like me] from moving.

"Doubling council tax would push people to not buy second homes and then leave them empty for half the year."

And it’s not just second home owners that Norfolk is tackling. Prospective purchasers of certain properties in North Norfolk also have to contend with rules that favour those who have lived in the area for over three years.

Speaking to Nation.Cymru, one person who recently retired to Munsley, North Norfolk said: “I was turned away from a few properties here with restrictive covenants that meant I had to live there three years previously - the same thing happened in Cromer and Sheringham.

"It’s all along the North Norfolk coast - I’d get in touch with the estate agent and be told 'That’s for locals only’."

North Norfolk’s s157 restriction applies to many properties sold under the Right to Buy by North Norfolk District Council before March 2006.

The s157 restriction requires that a prospective purchaser must have lived or worked in Norfolk for at least three years (without a break) at the date of purchase.

In the case of joint purchasers, only one of the purchasers needs to have lived or worked in Norfolk for three years before their purchase.

The policy has driven down prices and made them more affordable - at odds with the wider UK market, but in reach of locals.

And yet, as it’s an English policy affecting (primarily) English people, it’s not racist.

The fuss when we propose similar things.

Kernyw

The situation is at boiling point in Cornwall, where 20% of all second home sales in the UK took place in the last decade.

Heck of a map from @guardian pic.twitter.com/Uz7TyQexrA

— David Ellis (@David_J_Ellis1) March 7, 2024

Back in 2016, St Ives voted to ban the sale of new homes to second home buyers.

Fowey and Mevagissey soon followed suit, but a 2019 London School of Economics study found the policy just pushed up prices – because demand shifted from apartments to existing homes.

This has, in turn, pushed up rents – making it harder for first-time buyers to save for deposits.

From next year, Cornwall intends to generate £28m by charging second homeowners double council tax under new powers handed down by the levelling up secretary.

An article from the Telegraph earlier this year has quite rightly pointed out that this issue doesn’t exist in a microcosm, and red tape facing landlords has led to increased competition and demand for rental properties, while council property waiting lists continue to grow. House building has also stalled across much of the UK.

Labour and the Tories have let things run amok, and their efforts to try to address the situation have only made things worse.

A spokesman for Cornwall Council told the outlet: “Cornwall continues to experience extreme and unprecedented pressures on housing and we have the utmost sympathy for our residents unable to find a home.

“There are many reasons for the current pressures, which were brought to a head in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The boom in house prices and demand for holiday accommodation caused a significant and sudden reduction in the availability of homes to rent.

“Private landlords moved away from long-term letting and towards the short-term holiday market, as COVID-19 travel restrictions increased the demand from people looking to holiday within the UK. Others sold their properties due to the high market sales prices. This was matched by an escalation in private rental costs.”

“Priced out"

Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg are currently calling for the introduction of an Article 4 Directive for the whole of Eryri.

The introduction of this policy would make planning permission mandatory before changing the use of a property from a main home to a second home or short-term letting accommodation.

Gwyn Siôn Ifan, Chair of the Gwynedd and Môn Region of Cymdeithas yr Iaith, said: “The significant number of second homes and short-term holiday accommodation in Eryri – around 17% of the entire housing stock – is a symptom of the inequality of an open housing market which undermines the sustainability of communities and threatens the future of Welsh as a living language.

“According to a report prepared for the Planning Committee, 65% of Eryri’s entire population have been priced out of their own housing market.”

Tears of clowns

In Gwyn Siôn Ifan’s words, “Ultimately, the housing system must be transformed at its core by introducing a Property Act which would treat houses as essential social assets and put the housing needs of communities before profit.”

But when Wales tries to tackle the problem, the narrative shifts.

Instead of championing the voices of local people and their local communities, we tend to centre the voice of the victim of all victims - the second home owner.

And, in turn, we are labelled racist - something not so easy to do when it’s done in England.

From the people who wrote brought you the British Empire, you can expect the highly original: ‘BUT WELSH PEOPLE HAVE SECOND HOMES TOO!?!’, ‘I shop in the local Tesco and use a local cleaner, now I’ll use Aldi back in Chester!!!!’, ‘You lot couldn’t afford this one anyway.'

Blah blah f***ing blah.

Read the room

A financial disincentive only works for the poorer among us.

If your pockets are deep enough, a few hundred quid extra for a house that’s been snapped up for a laughable sum is neither here nor there.

And if said pockets aren’t deep enough, and you’re struggling with the new costs associated with having an oversized dolls house, then it’s time to sell up and live according to your means.

Wales needs an outright ban on second home ownership, and an end to operations of companies such as AirBnB, and we need to be bold and introduce policies such as those in North Norfolk that prioritise the needs of the people who live in and work in our communities.

We need to grow some balls, all of us, and stop centering the narrative of the already-haves and do what is right for the very survival of our communities.

Morality is subjective, of course, but there is something morally wrong with a country that shrugs its shoulders when young people have no choice but to sofa surf or move away, often putting off having a family, while others add to their portfolios with a bolthole, a nest egg, a boutique cottage by the sea or a city pad to let out during big events.

And to those who shall no longer be centred - enough with the redefining of what it means to be racist and go buy something in Norfolk or Whitby.

Oh sorry, they don’t want you there either.