B&B owners are victims of double standards in homes row: The Yorkshire Post says

He also has first-hand knowledge of the sensitivities surrounding second homes. As Local Government Minister, he launched a review to see if the owners of such properties were exploiting tax loopholes.

Now Mr Sunak must be wishing that the report had been published – and implemented – before UK tourism was left facing its greatest ever crisis.

The assertion is that each second home owner has been eligible to claim up to £10,000 from a coronavirus support fund if they have registered their property as a holiday let and made it available for rent for at least 140 days per year – with no requirement for any letting to actually take place.

Contrast this with the proprietors of all those much loved B&B establishments who face ruin because they do not qualify for financial aid as a result of an anomaly that sees them pay council tax instead of business rates.

Such double standards are inevitably causing great angst, though it must be stressed that many holiday home owners have made legitimate claims and that money spent on the upkeep of properties, and also by guests staying in the area, contributes greatly to the rural economy.

But the fact that the Covid-19 law changes have had such unintended consequences is both unfortunate – the prompt processing of claims needs to be underpinned by some form of scrutiny – and does nothing to help the B&B sector in the meantime.

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James Mitchinson

Editor