Just how many holiday lets and second homes are there in Rye? I’ve no idea. You don’t either.
There are certainly plenty of homes with lock safes next to the front door, and last year when the water was cut off you could tell which homes were empty by the piles of water bottles left on doorsteps for days. Hardly a scientific survey.
I know there’s one for certain. Next door is an AirBnB. It’s not very busy and apart from a few late-night drinks in the garden with Abba on repeat it’s not been a huge issue. But it is a house that’s unavailable to local people to rent, not least because it costs over £150 a night.
The impact of second homes and holiday lets is also a bit of an unknown, which is why it’s good news Rother District Council has decided to have a proper look into it. It’s long been on the council’s to do list but a meeting in October decided on a review not just in Rye, but also Camber and Winchelsea too. Rye Cllr Simon McGurk is helping draw up the plan which will be discussed at Bexhill Town Hall later this month.
A Rye Town Council meeting earlier in the summer suggested over 400 homes in the town are AirBnBs, holiday lets and second homes. A quick search on AirBnB found 142 properties up for rent. As one councillor put it: “A large part of Rye has been taken over, providing little benefit to the community and removing housing for local people.”
Of course, it’s a bit more complicated than that. They provide employment for local people and help bring more paying visitors to Rye. There’s a world of difference between renting out a room or two and homes being let out by multinational companies but it all adds to an increasing lack of available and affordable housing. Further complicated by neither of the town’s two housing developments planned on Winchelsea or Ferry Roads having any element of social housing.
What will come out of the RDC review is also interesting. Proposals could include further rises to council tax for second homes and lets, registration for business rates, and a local tourist tax. Plus whatever is decided locally will have to sit alongside changes in Westminster policy on planning and registration too. Wednesday’s budget has already produced one change – from Thursday this week people buying an additional property will see the extra stamp duty they pay rise from 3% to 5%.
But at least we’ll soon know how many there are…
Image Credits: Jim Linwood , AirBnB .
I was under the impression that operating a residential property as an Air BnB requires planning permission, unless the host actually lives in the property, as it represents a change of use.
Presumably all those houses with key safes are not occupied by the host, and therefore could theoretically be asked to apply for retrospective planning permission, which could be refused?
Not sure why you think a key safe implies an Air B’n’B operation. I have a key safe simply because I once forgot my keys and locked myself out. Seemed better than leaving a key under the flowerpot.