Latest news with #holidaylets
Telegraph
10 hours ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Spain launches another tax raid on British holidaymakers
Are you a holiday let owner affected by the Spanish government's new tax? Get in touch money@ Spain's socialist government is planning a tax raid on British holiday let-owners in the country. The ruling Spanish Socialist Workers' Party wants to charge 21pc VAT on stays of less than 30 days – more than double the rate paid by hotels. It comes as Madrid lawmakers take aim at foreign property investors as part of efforts to tackle high housing costs. Draft legislation put before the Spanish parliament would raise taxes on owners of short-term tourist rentals from the current rate of zero. The levy rate paid by hotels is just 10pc. Unveiling the new bill last month, housing minister Isabel Rodriguez said: 'Homes are for living in [...] the measures seek to guarantee the right to rental housing for families.' The proposed change is part of the same legal push to impose a 100pc purchase tax on the sale of Spanish property to non-European Union buyers and also includes higher taxes for second homes and vacant properties. Alex Radford, partner at Spain-based law firm English Solicitor & Abogado, said: 'The VAT has got more chance of being implemented than the 100pc tax on a property bought by a non-European.' He said that if approved, the bill would likely increase the cost of holidays and lead to fewer available holiday lets in Spain. 'We would envisage that the rental [market] is going to be slightly more expensive. If owners have to add 21pc VAT to the cost of a rental, then we would expect rentals to decrease and people will look at other countries.' 'It's still early days and we don't know what will get approved and what will not,' Mr Radford added. 'Britons are the number one enemy' Millions of Britons who visit and live in Spain face losing out because of the new laws, which will undergo scrutiny and potentially amendment before being voted on in the second half of this year. There were more than 260,000 British expats living in Spain at the last official count in 2020, while it received 1.6 million tourists from the UK – more than any other country – during the busy April period last year, according to the Spanish statistics agency. Robert Amsterdam, partner Amsterdam & Associates, a law firm that has campaigned against higher Spanish taxes, said: 'The Spanish government is diverting the attention of the Spanish people away from the government's behaviour and they're coming up with the British as enemy number one.' Most estimates place the number of British people who own property in Spain between 800,000 and one million. A figure for the number of British holiday let-owners in the country was not available. British non-residents bought 3,480 homes in Spain in the first half of 2024, making up 38pc of a total of 9,166 properties sold to non-resident non-EU buyers, according to the latest available figures from the General Council of Spanish Notaries and Spanish Property Insight. Growing anti-tourist sentiment in Spain has already seen cities like Malaga and Madrid capping new licences for holiday lets, while Barcelona will ban them completely by 2028. Spanish media reported in January that Barcelona's plans would cost €1.9bn (£1.6bn) and lose the city around 40,000 jobs, based on a report by consultancy PWC. The country's minority coalition government has defended a crackdown on foreign property investors and holiday let-owners as necessary to make more housing available for Spanish people. There is a deficit of 450,000 homes across Spain, according to a Bank of Spain report published this week. In popular tourist destinations like the Canary and Balearic Islands half the housing stock is either holiday lets for tourists or homes owned by foreigners, it said. Javier Peñate, a legal adviser to a holiday homeowners association in the Canary Islands, told Reuters: 'The sole objective is to put an end to these activities and leave [tourism] in the hands of hoteliers.' Short-term rentals in the province already pay 7pc VAT, as do hotels.
Telegraph
7 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Councils to lose £334m as second home tax raid backfires
Second home owners dodging the double council tax raid will cost local authorities £334m, analysis shows. A loophole means owners can escape paying four-figure bills by flipping their properties into holiday lets and renting them out for 70 nights of the year. The move allows the properties to qualify for business rates relief and also exempts owners from paying any council tax at all. In the past year, the amount of lost council tax revenue has doubled from £170m, according to research by property firm Colliers. Experts and politicians said the figures proved the tax raid was backfiring. Kevin Hollinrake, the shadow housing minister, said: 'Labour couldn't even be bothered to carry out any impact assessment, nor have they asked councils to restrict the policy to where there are localised problems in the housing market. 'This policy has massively backfired on them and it will be local people who pay the price.' In Cornwall, the second home capital of the country, £52m of council tax income will be lost to 10,731 holiday let properties.
The Independent
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Brighton and Hove considers crackdown on holiday lets amid housing shortage
Brighton and Hove City Council is considering a crackdown on holiday lets amid an ongoing housing shortage in the area. According to a report from the council's Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee, between 2,000 and 6,000 homes are being used as holiday lets in the authority. The report from 25 March added that the boom in rentals has added to the strain on the local housing supply, antisocial behaviour and council infrastructure, including rubbish collection services. It also suggested that holiday lets could swerve paying business rates and exploiting tax loopholes. The council recommended the introduction of a licensing scheme to ensure properties meet health and safety standards and are registered correctly as a business, along with financial penalties for breaches. Short-term lets such as Airbnbs will face stricter regulations and licensing conditions should the council's cabinet back the new measures or lobby the government to make legal changes. Green councillor Ollie Sykes said: 'Basically, there is nowhere to rent in Brighton and Hove any more. It's all Airbnb which is absolutely crazy. 'I'm all for compliant regulated short-term lets as provided by Catherine Lane but also clear that should be controlled by planning due to the impact on housing.' Mr Sykes added that 2,100 homes are available to rent on Rightmove, affecting accessible housing in Brighton and Hove. Catherine Lane, owner of My Holiday Let, said that short-term lets were responsible for bringing far higher economic benefits to Brighton than hotels or bed and breakfasts, but that licensing or registration was a 'good idea', in a task group meeting. The council's cabinet is expected to discuss the issue at a meeting in Hove Town Hall on 26 June. In July, Green councillor Ellen McLeay proposed a motion at a Brighton & Hove City Council meeting to tackle short-term holiday lets and their impact on the local housing market. McLeay said families were being "priced out" of the city centre, and short-term lets were creating "ghost neighbourhoods". Sankey said that she would like to see new powers allowing councils within the UK to regulate the number of short-term holiday lets and decide on taxes for tourists. 'We're not immune to the impact of the national housing crises,' the councillor said.
BBC News
27-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Eastbourne council to consider Martello Towers holiday lets plan
An East Sussex council is due to consider plans which would see two historic military towers turned into holiday plans, submitted to Eastbourne Borough Council's (EBC) planning committee, would see internal and external conversions to Martello Towers 66 and 64 near Sovereign Harbour and the Crumbles respectively. The proposals have the support of Historic England and local heritage group The Eastbourne Society. However, critics have raised concerns about noise, parking, wildlife impact and light pollution. Martello Towers were originally built to serve as military defences during the Napoleonic era. Specific works on the Grade II listed structures include roof extensions, solar panel installations and the construction of new access staircases to turn them into short-term holiday lets. In a statement reproduced within a report to the planning committee, a spokesman for Historic England said the heritage and public benefits "outweigh the harm", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).It said the works would "likely remove the assets from the Heritage At Risk register".The applications, submitted by Robert Adams, have been recommended for approval with the committee report noting the applicant had worked "closely with Historic England over the last few years" on proposed designs. Both applications received 54 objection letters each, citing concerns over privacy for local residents and sea flooding works conducted by the Environment Agency (EA). The EA had initially raised concerns about the proposals but has since withdrawn its objections subject to conditions. EBC's planning committee is due to consider the applications on 3 June.
BBC News
26-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Brighton and Hove holiday let crackdown to be discussed
Sarah Booker-Lewis Local Democracy Reporting Service Getty Images Brighton & Hove City Council is considering clamping down on short-term holiday lets A crackdown on holiday lets could be on the cards if Brighton & Hove City Council's cabinet backs tougher measures. Council officials are exploring ways to regulate, licence and register short-term lets after a report raised fears that they were driving up rents in the city and putting a strain on rubbish and recycling services. A report from the council's Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee found as many as 6,000 homes were being used as short-term and holiday lets. Green councillor Ollie Sykes said: "Basically, there is nowhere to rent in Brighton and Hove any more. It's all Airbnb which is absolutely crazy." Mr Sykes said that short-term lets affected housing availability in Brighton and Hove, adding that 2,100 homes in the area were for rent on the website Rightmove. The report also suggested that some short-term letting businesses could be avoiding paying business rates, prompting calls for any tax loopholes to be closed, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. The report also said that short-term lets tended to produce more rubbish and recycling than regular homes, with visitors putting their waste out on the wrong days. The scrutiny committee discussed steps taken by other councils, including in Blackpool where a holiday lets zone had been established in the strategic plan for the area. The cabinet could propose creating a zone or zones where Airbnbs are permitted and where they are not usually to be allowed as work gets under way on the new city plan for Brighton and Hove. The issue is expected to be discussed when the cabinet meets at Hove Town Hall on 26 June.
