LANDOWNERS in Wales have said the Welsh government's decision to allow local authorities to charge premiums of up to 300 per cent on second homes is not the way to solve the housing crisis.

“Tourism is a vital part of the Welsh rural economy. Farms have been encouraged or forced to diversify, and the Welsh government itself has spent millions on a sector which now contributes around £2.8billion to the economy,” says CLA Cymru director, Nigel Hollett.

“The affordable housing crisis needs to be solved, but we must ensure that farms and land managers whose livelihood – and the income of their employees – who depend on property management, are not the unintended victims of a central failure to address an important social issue.

"No evidence has been presented that targeting the tourism sector will increase the affordable housing stock, or that funds raised by councils will be committed to residential building.

“The solution is to improve the planning system to enable the building of more homes, to release suitable land for sustainable development and to encourage the conversion of suitable buildings – from large-scale urban retail sites to rural barns and former business premises.

“Equally, government policy to require ever-demanding energy performance certificates (EPCs) from traditionally-built, rural rented properties – is exacerbating the affordable housing crisis, as many private rented properties become unviable and are inevitably sold – probably into the second homes market.”

Nigel adds: “The rural tourism industry is still to recover to pre-pandemic levels. Many who manage self-catering holiday accommodation see this – and more proposals to come – and see that the Welsh government has no intention to sustain a level playing field for our tourism sector with other parts of the UK.”

The change in criteria for self-catering accommodation being liable for business rates instead of council tax is also set to change, as the number of days properties must be available to let is likely to increase to 252 days from 140 days a year.

The criteria for self-catering accommodation being liable for business rates instead of council tax will also change from next April.

Mr Hollett concluded: “The big picture is that the Welsh government’s proposals will lead to a reduction in capacity for visitors to Wales – meaning reducing the tourist-pound spent in attractions, pubs, restaurants and shops.

"The proposals are an open-goal for the unregulated, online sources of holiday accommodation – undoing many years’ work done by Visit Wales, the Welsh government’s own agency, and divorcing this part of the sector from government.

"Finally, there’s no real evidence that this will make a strong contribution to improving the supply of affordable housing.”