Following a Freedom of Information request, the BBC are reporting that the number of holiday-let homes in England has risen by 40 per cent in three years.
Here on the Isle of Wight the number of short-term holiday lets saw a 39 per cent increase between 2018 and 2021.
This amounted to a rise from 908 to 1,262 holiday-let properties.
Impact on long-term rentals
Mention this to anyone trying to find a long term rental on the Island and they’ll tell you they’ve know this for a long time.
Earlier this year it was revealed at an Association of Local Councils’ meeting that there had been a 82 per cent reduction in number of private properties available for rent. Landlords were choosing to either sell their properties or change to holiday lets.
Addressing the housing crisis
This month the cabinet member in charge of housing said that the council were not doing enough to help and that the ‘ray of light’ thought to be modular housing approved to go forward last October has progressed no further. Cllr Stephens went on to add that 83.2 per cent of residents could not afford a new build home on the open market.
Short term lets are defined as being available for at least 140 days of the year and registered for business rates rather than council tax.
You can read more about the national picture in the rise of holiday rentals on the BBC Website.
Image: mary j friedrich under CC BY 2.0
