Cumbria councils welcome clamp-down on holiday homes

The Lake District's picturesque villages attract holidaymakers and second home owners

Councillors in an area with a high number of holiday lets have welcomed new powers to increase council tax on unused second homes.

Local authorities are due to be given the ability to double the tax on those not used for 70 days or more.

Cumbria County and Allerdale Borough councils say holiday lets and second homes reduce the number of properties available for local residents.

Liberal Democrat Neil Hughes said the move should have been made "years ago".

He said: "It is an issue across rural Cumbria."

The government should also adjust the planning system to make it harder to change a property's use from residential home to holiday let, he added.

The Lake District is a popular holiday destination

The government announced the plans in the Queen's Speech on Tuesday.

The rules currently allow local authorities to increase council tax on homes left empty for more than two years but holiday lets are exempt if available for rent for at least 140 days a year.

These rules are due to change from April 2023.

Councils in Cumbria had already called for the government to take action to address the soaring number of holiday lets and second homes in the Lake District.

They agree that communities need holiday lets and second homes but only in limited numbers, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Keswick Labour councillor Tony Lywood said the council tax on holiday homes should be four or five times the standard rate.

"I would also like to see holiday homes brought back into council tax," he said.

"What we've got to do is try and use fiscal and economic methods to disincentivise people from holiday lets."