Baroness Alicia Kennedy, director of the Generation Rent campaign, says rents in Wales, Scotland and South West England have soared thanks to the proliferation of holiday lets.

Her campaign group claims it costs around one quarter more to rent a home in regions popular with holidaymakers than it did two years ago, with the numbers of properties available to let sharply down – by as much as 53 per cent in Wales.

In contrast, she admits that rents in London are down by 17 per cent compared with July 2019, with the number of listings up by 10 per cent in the same period.

The group says there is now “unbearable pressure on renters” in popular tourist communities.

Using Zoopla data, the group says it’s compared listings of rental properties on July 15 2019 and July 16 this year. 

In Wales, listings have allegedly fallen by 53 per cent over that period and rents have increased by 26 per cent. In South West England, listings have fallen by 49 per cent and rents are up 23 per cent, while in Scotland listings are down by 28 per cent and rents up 24 per cent.

And it claims that while holidaymakers to a hotspot might have a choice of thousands of short term lets, in many areas fewer than 100 homes are available for locals to live in. 

The group says that in the Scottish Highlands 5,049 holiday lets are being advertised, but just 15 properties to let on Zoopla. 

The campaigners want Chancellor Rishi Sunak to withdraw mortgage interest relief from landlords of furnished holiday lets, as part of creating what they call “a level playing field with the wider private rented sector.” 

They also demand unspecified further measures to “regulate the holiday lets market, ensure owners of holiday lets and second homes pay enough council tax, and build enough homes to allow people to stay in the areas where they grew up.”

Baroness Kennedy says: “Self-catering accommodation plays an essential role for the tourist industry, but it is too easy for landlords to evict locals from their homes to make way for more lucrative holidaymakers. 

“As a result communities are being torn apart and businesses that serve tourists struggle to find staff. The situation is unsustainable. 

“The government must give councils powers to tax and regulate their local holiday lets market appropriately, but should also act directly to take tax perks away from holiday lets so we keep homes available for people who need one.”