Letting agent claims area is over-run with Airbnb-style short lets

A lettings agent who is also on the executive of Propertymark claims one of Britain’s tourist hotspots has been over-run with short lets - and the longer term rental sector is suffering.

Sophie Lang says: “Since starting my career as a letting agent in Cornwall, I have seen an increase in landlords moving their properties from the private rental market to short-term. This is leaving locals who live and work in the area with fewer long-term options when it comes to both renting and buying.

“This shift is inevitable given the move to staycations on the back of the pandemic, however, this has only been exacerbated by the UK Government's lack of incentives and increased taxes for landlords in the private rental market. It is no wonder landlords have chosen to exit the market as many are struggling to break even in the current economic climate.

“These calls to the UK Government have been persistent since the pandemic, and it’s now time that it stepped up and incentivised long-term accommodation routes to help local residents move freely within their communities.”

Propertymark says that since the pandemic, landlords across the country have been moving their properties from the private rented sector to the short-term lettings market, especially within tourist hotspots.

The trade body says that: “Given that taxes and other financial barriers are constantly placed upon landlords in the private rented sector alongside rises in interest rates, ultimately making many mortgages more expensive, we are unsurprised by the news. We continue to push the UK Government to make investing in the sector more desirable for landlords rather than adding further barriers and continuing to penalise them.”

Lang is the director/owner of Lang Llewellyn & Co, an agency based in Penryn