Cornwall tourism bosses raise concerns over holiday let exodus

More short-term holiday lets in Cornwall are being put back on the market for sale or rent, estate agents have said.

It comes in advance of the end of favourable tax breaks for the industry - announced by the previous Conservative government in the budget in March.

Estate agents added that bookings had also slowed down - making the business less profitable for owners.

However, local tourism bosses raised concerns about the knock-on effect on the visitor economy of losing short-term holiday accommodation.

Changes to the way the industry is regulated - first revealed earlier this year - were designed to stop communities being 'hollowed out' by empty properties.

The then-Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed allowances and tax breaks that owners had previously enjoyed would come to an end next spring.

Phil Norgan, from Smart Estate Agent in Newquay, said: "I would expect to see over the next six months quite an upturn in the number of people leaving the holiday let business and moving over to either short-hold tenancies, or just selling up."

However, he warned that the kind of properties coming onto the market were too expensive for most people to afford.

"It's the high-end properties - four and five-bed houses - that are coming across to us because the big stuff is what people aren't taking up as holiday lets.

"So you're not talking about what I would term affordable for your normal renter."

As well as failing to provide affordable housing, tourism chiefs are concerned about the loss of short-term accommodation for visitors to the region.

Malcolm Bell, chairman of Visit Cornwall, said: "They are an important part of the mix. Often self-catering properties are the ones people choose to come to out of season.

"That out-of-season buyer purchasing power is particularly important for pubs and restaurants.

"Having extra people who are on holiday is incredibly vital and could stop some pubs from closing," he added.

But Andrew George, the Liberal Democrat MP for St Ives, backed the Government's removal of tax breaks.

He argued: "Billion of pounds of taxpayers' money has gone in to the holiday letting industry through various tax subsidies, including Covid aid, over the last ten years.

"There are other forms of accommodation. I think the way that the tax system worked put the hotel industry at a disadvantage."