Petition launched to raise tax on second homes and cap local rents in Cornwall
It was set up by Abigail Harding from Newlyn, who warns the Duchy is on the brink of a "homelessness crisis"
Thousands of people have signed a petition calling to raise the tax on second homes in Cornwall.
It is also demanding a cap on local rents, amid reports house prices have jumped 15% since the pandemic began.
Abigail Harding set it up after watching her friend from Newlyn struggling to find a home when her landlady decided to sell-up.
"She's a single mum, a young professional, two kids and she really was finding it very, very difficult to find anywhere to move on to.
"There were just no rentals that were coming up.
"She had gone on the council housing list as well and when she was finally able to bid on a property, she was offered one property and it was in St Austell".
Abigail Harding
The petition states that the "latest second homes property frenzy in the county is the last straw".
It claims that has seen an "unprecedented 15% increase in local house prices since April last year".
It says: "Cornwall currently has more than 10,290 active Airbnb listings yet. in comparison, the housing website Rightmove had only 62 properties available to rent privately across the whole county on Friday evening (The Guardian, 30th May 2021)".
Abigail says that is placing houses beyond the read of local buyers and affecting the private rental market, by leaving local families with "simply nowhere to go".
She says the Duchy is on the brink of a homelessness crisis: "It's people's mums, it's people's cousins, it's people's families living in yurts, living in vans who just haven't been talking to people about their situation because people feel ashamed about their circumstances. That's the most heartbreaking thing about this; people feel like it's their fault.
"It's critical. We've reached, I think, a tipping point now. Historically it was always a problem of local families not being able to buy their first home and that is a problem, obviously that is a tragedy in itself but things have turned a corner now.
"People can't rent anymore and that is a very different set of circumstances".
Abigail Harding
What is the petition calling for?
The petition, entitled 'Cap local rents, raise the tax on second homes and save Cornwall’s precious coastal communities', is calling on Cornwall Council to act now.
It says: "We demand that Linda Taylor and the newly formed Conservative Cornwall Council show their renewed commitment to the Cornish people by making quick and decisive moves to:
- Levy a higher, more stringent tax on second homes which recognises the threat they pose to local communities.
- Close the loophole which allows them to be classed as 'businesses' allowing them to tap into locally allocated funds and in some cases avoid paying council tax altogether.
- Work quickly towards outlining firm strategies to cap local rents in keeping with local incomes so that local families are not left homeless.
- Use the funds accrued from taxing second homes properly into building FIRST and ONLY affordable homes for local families.
More than 42,000 people have signed the petition, that has a target of 50,000 signatures.
You can read more and find out how to sign the petition here.