🏠 What are the main political parties saying about FHLs?

So breaking with the majority of good advice, I am discussing politics in this weeks newsletter! 🗳️

I hope my summary of what the main political parties manifestos are saying 📣 in relation to FHLs is useful input for you, and if nothing else provides you with direct links 🔗 to each parties manifesto!

If you find any other FHL pertinent points from the manifestos just let me know and I will update the web version of this newsletter 📨

See you next Saturday at 5pm?

Phil

Founder, My Holiday Guide

IN THE NEWS

What are the main political parties saying about FHLs within their manifestos? Below are some pertinent points I have managed to find. I have also linked each of the parties manifestos so that you can delve through them yourself.

All quotes have been taken directly from each parties manifesto and are in no particular order!

Green Party manifesto :

• “Elected Greens will introduce legislation to give local authorities, registered social landlords and community housing groups the first option to buy certain properties at reasonable rates, for example private rental property that hasn’t been insulated to EPC rating C or that fails to meet the decent homes standard, or any property that is left empty for more than six months.”

• “To enhance the role of local authorities, elected Greens will push for local decisions about planning to be informed by a land use planning policy framework that seeks to balance various needs, such as to meet the challenge of the climate emergency, protect nature, grow enough food, and provide homes and energy.”

• “A ban on domestic flights for a journey that would take less than three hours by train.”

• “There are estimated to be around a million empty homes across all tenures in the United Kingdom. We would empower local authorities to bring empty homes back into use.”

Plaid Cymru Party of Wales manifesto :

• “We believe that everybody has the right to live within the community in which they were raised. Plaid Cymru has also supported a package of actions to tackle the challenge of second homes and holiday homes within our communities, with a substantial impact felt in Ynys Mon, Gwynedd and Pembrokeshire in particular where they make up a large amount of the available housing stock.”

• “We have introduced powers for local authorities to require registration of a change of use for a property into a holiday home and to introduce a cap on the number of second and holiday homes within a community.”

• “Many local authorities in Wales have now introduced a council tax premium on second homes, where the additional funds raised are put towards development of social housing for local residents. We are also looking to close loopholes which allow holiday homes to pretend to be legitimate lettings businesses, so that we can ensure that genuine self-catered accommodation businesses can be protected.”

Labour Party manifesto :

• “Labour will prioritise the building of new social rented homes and better protect our existing stock by reviewing the increased right to buy discounts introduced in 2012 and increasing protections on newly-built social housing.”

• “We will immediately update the National Policy Planning Framework to undo damaging Conservative changes, including restoring mandatory housing targets.”

• “We will immediately update the National Policy Planning Framework to undo damaging Conservative changes, including restoring mandatory housing targets. We will take tough action to ensure that planning authorities have up todate Local Plans and reform and strengthen the presumption in favour of sustainable development.”

Conservative Party manifesto :

• “We will ensure councils have the powers they need to manage the uncontrolled growth of holiday lets, which can cause nuisance to local residents and a hollowing out of communities.”

• “We will deliver the court reforms necessary to fully abolish Section 21 and strengthen other grounds for landlords to evict private tenants guilty of anti-social behaviour.”

Liberal Democrat Party manifesto :

• “We will upgrade the status of tourism in government with a dedicated Minister of State for Tourism and Hospitality.”

• “Give local authorities new powers to control second homes and short-term lets in their areas by:

  • Allowing them to increase council tax by up to 500% where homes are being bought as second homes, with a stamp duty surcharge on overseas residents purchasing such properties

  • Creating a new planning class for these properties.”

Scottish National Party manifesto :

• Not yet released

Reform UK Party manifesto :

• At the time of writing I could not find their manifesto however found the following from their ‘contract with you’

• “Scrap the 2019 Tax Changes for Landlords. The tax system should encourage smaller landlords into the rental markets. Not penalise them.”

• “Abolish the Renters’ (Reform) Bill. Existing legislation was adequate to address bad practices. Instead, we will boost the monitoring, appeals and enforcement process.”

Other News

• The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC) has Partnered with Sustonica to Promote Responsible Tourism in Scotland’s Self-Catering Community via the Sustonica sustainability label, which is a program that checks energy efficiency, waste reduction, water conservation

• Mortgage arrears has hit £21.3bn in January to March 2024, the highest since 2014 according to Bank of England data

• A released report by Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire District Councils has highlighted that they could take action on holiday lets if it identifies them as having an impact on housing supply

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Airbnb’s “Guest Favourite” badge has been in place for a while now, but how do you actually achieve Guest Favourite status? Here is a list of the criteria according to Airbnb :

• At least five reviews from guests

• Excellent reviews and ratings above 4.9 stars on average

• High marks from guest reviews for check-in, cleanliness, accuracy, Host communication, location and value

• Superb record of reliability, with Host cancellations and quality-related customer service issues of 1% on average

Alongside guest favourites, Airbnb also introduced their ‘highlight’ badge.

Although it’s helpful to understand how you can achieve a guest favourite and highlight badge for your property, it is really an end result of all of the hard work you do as a host; so whether you currently have a guest favourite badge or not, keep up the good work!

SAVINGS
Here's a quick round up of discounts and deals we are aware of from providers to the holiday let industry.

• Hug at Home currently have 15% off using the code HUG364

• Habitat have up to £250 off when you spend over £1,000 on garden furniture using the code GARDEN

• Dusk have up to 15% off sofas using the code SOFA15EMAIL

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You can read the full article below:

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