Plan to curb second homes could hit house prices, council says

Many locals are priced out of the housing market in places like Aberdaron

A controversial proposal to force people to get planning permission for their second homes could lower property prices, Gwynedd's council has said.

The local authority said it is "inevitable" prices might decrease, possibly by around 5%.

Cyngor Gwynedd says it has a "huge housing crisis," fuelled largely by a high concentration of second homes.

Tourism leaders and residents have expressed concerns over the proposal.

A public consultation on the plan ends Wednesday and a final decision is expected to be made next year.

Welsh government amendments to planning regulations have introduced three new classes of use - main home, second home and short-term holiday accommodation.

Councils also now have the power to control the use of houses as second homes or holiday lets.

Earlier this year, Gwynedd voted to press ahead with plans to issue a so-called Article 4 Direction, which requires people to get planning permission for second homes or short-term holiday lets in the county.

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In a report aiming to justify the move, it said: "Inevitably, it is likely that intervention by introducing an Article 4 Direction and, therefore, controlling the use made of residential units, would have a [possibly minimal] effect on the value of the property on the open market."

It said a property would lower in value as the new rules would restrict what it could be used for.

The report added: "It is, therefore, noted that such a restriction could be a means of securing lower cost market houses within the housing market."

The report said it was impossible to predict exactly what impact the policy would have, but said "it is inevitable that the Article 4 Direction would have a similar effect on house prices".

Gwynedd's council has already imposed a 150% council tax premium on second home owners.

'Russian roulette'

North Wales Tourism has accused the council of "anti-tourism" policies, while one north Wales Senedd Member has described the plans as "barmy".

Edern resident Dafyn Jones is one of a 1,000-strong Facebook group against the plans, and said the council "are playing Russian roulette with people's assets".

Dafyn Jones says the council are playing Russian roulette with people's assets

"It's very easy to take it personally when someone at a stroke of a pen [says] 'we're going to devalue everyone's house'," he said.

He said the proposal was "good gesture politics" that appealed to a "small, maybe militant sector".

"But if you need to sell to move on to a care home, or if both my wife and I passed away and I wanted to leave my house to my son, immediately he's going to be clobbered with 300% council tax and will have to try and sell it for a value of not really what it's truly worth," Mr Jones added.

However, the council said that high numbers of holiday accommodation and second homes "can be a real threat to the social, cultural and economic prosperity of communities across Gwynedd".

It said that, on average, 65.5% of the county's population are priced out of the housing market, rising to 96.1% in hotspots like Abersoch and Aberdaron.

Craig ab Iago, cabinet member for housing, said: "Are house prices going to come down? I don't know in the future if that's going to happen. No one does.

"House prices tend to go up all the time anyway.

Craig ab Iago said the point of the consultation was to understand the nuances of the debate around house prices

"But, do we need house prices to be more affordable for people in Gwynedd? Can anybody disagree with that?

"That's the whole point of this consultation, to really try and understand the nuance of it and not just this black and white," he said.

Mark Roberts, planning and environmental law consultant, said other measures would also be needed if the aim was to lower house prices.

"It's not just about Article 4 Directions on their own. It is a help, but I can't see prices coming down because of [it]," he said.

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