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?
There is plenty of land available for Social Housing – and that seems to be the real issue ( unless its simply jelousy ) . There is an underused Tilling Green site ( the former school ) and surrounding land that could if properly designed AND CENTRAL GOVT funds accessed to make a decent dent on local social housing waiting lists . Ditto the area of land at the very start of Ferry Road behind the closed pub ,
Its a lack of real imagination and initiative that Rother Council lack in getting the funding and getting on with such things – esp now as the current government claims that funds can be accessed,
The town benefits from its visitors – we cannot say oh yes you can come and spend you money in the bars and restaurants and shops but you must only stay for the day or you must pay for a hotel
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.
Granted in rare cases, But a Keysafe is used for these types of operations and is a key (no pun intended) indicator. Going back a few years before this scourge started there never used to be anywhere near as many Keysafes around (especially in the Citadel – btw how does that work on a listed building – defacing brickwork and stuck in plain sight of everyone etc etc as an aside thought?).
I would hazard a guess that most of them are Air BnB related. The sooner this selfish behaviour is taxed out of existence the better, although it won’t help most local Ryers as they could never afford to live within the town centre area anyway where many of these properties are located.
It’s not just AirBnB that is hollowing out our communities. There are far too many second ‘homes’ left dark for most of the time and only visited occasionally.
If Rye has a population of about 4,600, and assuming a national average of 2.4 persons per home, there are about 1,900 homes in Rye. If indeed 400 of these are AirBnBs or similar lets, that suggests 21% of Rye homes are being used for this purpose. It’s very important to find an accurate figure. RDC should note that other web-based short-term letting services exist and there are also second homes in Rye that sit unused during much of the year. In fact, I’d strongly advise RDC to contact Rye’s estate agents because one of them recently revealed that almost one in five Rye properties are now sold as second homes. Estate agents are most likely to be able to provide a good estimate of how many homes in Rye are second homes, short-term lets and so on.
Estate agents advertise homes as a good investment opportunity / holiday homes etc
My experience with local estate agents is that they really don’t care who buys it as long as they make a sale.
It’s not a new problem, as far back as the 60’s young couples were forced to move to places like Hastings because they just couldn’t afford to buy in Rye.
Rye has always been a town of two halves, the haves and the rest of us.
Property is a source of pension for most owners. Flood resilient community owned housing is the key to affordable homes. Tourism is a major industry since we produce fewer widgets nowadays. Tourism could be more effectively harnessed with a little bit of imagination from the town council. Ski resorts in Europe are a prime example of purpose built infrastructure, a thriving natural environment, locals with decent jobs and tourists. Remarkable.
Its great to see so much engagement even at this stage before the group looking at AirBnBs has begun. When it comes to it I really hope there will be good engagement from across our community, private residents, businesses and AirBnB owners themselves. We are keen to ensure that any changes are based on a sound and comprehensive understanding of the local picture.
key safes are useful for people who have home care so their carers can get in, or need for emergency situations i.e. Ambulance, etc. and indeed homeowners forgetting ones own keys.
May be home owners need other people to get into their home for other reasons whilst at work. I am sure the list of reasons could be quiet long.