If you have had your eye on a bungalow along the Devon coast, a cottage in the New Forest, or a tastefully painted terrace in one of the sea-facing villages in Norfolk, this could be your moment. Many holiday home owners are choosing to sell up to avoid a hike on council taxes. From next week, local authorities will be allowed to charge double the normal rate for second home owners. Average bills are set to rise from £2,280 to £4,560.
This crackdown is likely to be popular. After all, who has sympathy with those who own two homes, when many young people are struggling to get on to the housing ladder? Despite the temptation, we should resist joining in the cheering: instead of declaring war on second home owners, why don’t we encourage people to own holiday homes? After all, the UK has very few of them.
The reality is that, for all the concern that communities are being hollowed out by second home owners, the UK has remarkably few holiday homes. They account for just 3 per cent of the British housing stock, compared to 10 per cent in France, where a country retreat is completely normal for many, not just for the very wealthy. In Norway, as many as a quarter of homes are second properties, while in Sweden, 54 per cent of the population either has a second home themselves or has access to one through their family.
People like to moan about holiday home owners, but they can be blind to the benefits that they bring to communities. With their owners’ constant redecorations, and their enthusiasm for a ‘not exactly value-for-money’ farmer’s market over the local Lidl, second home owners bring lots of cash into areas that might otherwise have very little spending power. Perhaps most importantly, we shouldn’t forget that having a second home adds much to the quality of life of those fortunate enough to afford it.
So, spare a thought for second home owners as councils hit them where it hurts. After all, we mustn’t forget that going after these home owners is an odd target. We would think it strange to have a ‘war’ on people who owned a second pair of shoes, or a second TV, or a second anything else for that matter. So why are homes any different? Of course, it is legitimate to worry that people owning two homes might make buying a property tougher for local people. But if we wanted to fix that issue then – let’s all take a deep breath at this outlandish suggestion – we could try building a few more houses instead. That way, there would be enough for everyone.
Instead of building, the government has picked an easy target. Locals will say a crackdown is overdue. The ‘weekend crowds’ price ordinary people out of the market, they argue, forcing up prices in pubs and restaurants, and leaving places feeling soulless and empty from Monday to Thursday. There is perhaps some truth in those complaints. But if you’re fortunate enough to live somewhere idyllic, then you can hardly complain when others want to move in too.
In Britain, we not only live in homes that are very overpriced, and typically very small, by most international standards, we also don’t have anywhere to escape to. So instead of trying to tax second homes out of existence, perhaps we should try something more radical: we could encourage them instead.
Doing so would unleash a wave of growth, ‘level up’ the country, and add enjoyment to many people’s lives. It is hard to see what exactly would be so terrible about that. Give holiday home owners a break!
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