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Story for The Times: Landlords switching to holiday lets?

Journalist: George Nixon, The Times and The Sunday Times

ended 21. April 2023

Good afternoon,

I am working on a piece about holiday lets in light of the government's proposed rule changes last week about a registration system and planning permission to convert. 

There has been lots of talk landlords have ducked out of the long-term rental buy-to-let market as the sums work, and converted properties into holiday lets instead as the tax rules are better and it is more lucrative. Do any brokers/property experts here have any clients or know anyone who runs holiday lets who want to talk about their situation to go with this piece, please?

Thanks as always! George

5 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Kate Allen
Owner at Finest Stays
Hello George, I run a luxury holiday lettings agency so very happy to give some thoughts on the proposals.

I can also put you in touch with a holiday let owner who will happily speak to you; he also happens to be a conservative councillor candidate for Salcombe & Thurlestone .
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Kundan Bhaduri
Property Developer and Portfolio Landlord at The Kushman Group
After much deliberation, we have decided to move away from single-family lets. Properties, where tenants give notice to vacate, are unlikely to return to the lettings market.

It was a difficult decision but running family lets in the present economic environment is impossible with landlords facing daily attacks from the government and anti-landlord charities.

Good landlords are not in the business of taking unfair advantage of tenants. However, we are not a charity either. We can't continue to operate in an environment where we face a continuous onslaught of attacks. Which other sector in the UK is taxed on turnover, not profit? Which other business is forced to put up with non-paying and ill-behaved customers? The situation is simply untenable and adds insult to injury when sanctimonious politicians argue for the introduction of rent controls knowing well the state of the mortgage market and inflation in general. Why bother being a landlord when you can be a host?
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Austyn Johnson
Founder at Mortgages For Actors
They were moving over, up until that announcement! Now some are reconsidering and some are waiting for confirmation...
The planning permission office will be overrun if it all goes through.
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Kevin Dunn
Mortgage and Protection Adviser at Furnley House
Holiday lets can be quite lucrative, however, there are more costs involved if ran professionally. The legislation proposed is likely to happen and should be a good thing, to ensure standards, quality and importantly health & safety are high on landlords' priorities.
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Imran Khan
Co-founder & CEO at QuantumLoopAI
An increasing number of landlords are switching from long-term rentals to short-term holiday lets, driven by financial pressures in the Buy-to-Let sector. Despite the management challenges of short lets, landlords feel compelled to adapt due to mounting issues such as stricter regulations, tax changes, and rising interest rates. PropertyLoop has highlighted these factors as contributors to the difficulties faced by landlords, impacting both property owners and tenants. The rapid growth of compliance requirements, including EICR testing and EPC changes, along with the removal of mortgage interest relief and interest rate hikes, has pushed landlords to the brink. This exodus from the market is causing a knock-on effect on tenants, with rental property scarcity driving prices up. Imminent Section 21 changes and rent control discussions further dampen the market's appeal for landlords. Government policies must be reassessed to balance the needs of landlords and tenants.