SECOND HOME OWNERSHIP

That this House notes the distortions caused to rural housing markets by high levels of second home ownership, which can exclude local people from buying a home in their own community; further notes that disproportionate second home ownership can lead to critical reductions in demand for local services such as schools, post offices and public transport; and calls for local communities to be given powers to set the right balance for them between affordable and second homes, including amending planning law to make transferring the use of a property from a main home to a second home a formal change of use and to allow local authorities to levy business rates on second homes in their areas.