Holiday lets bring money and jobs into an area and allow families to take affordable self-catering breaks, writes Dom Flint, while Claire Russell says second homes can be a vital source of income for ordinary people
George Monbiot’s article (Second homes are a gross injustice, yet the UK government encourages them, 23 June) and the letters in response to it (The grotesque subsidies given to second home owners, 25 June) give the impression that thousands of holiday home owners are depriving local families of homes. This may be so for those who keep a second home for personal use while it remains empty for much of the year. However, the case against holiday homes is not as simple as it may sound.
On our retirement some years ago, we purchased a derelict building, which had never been a dwelling, and renovated it into a holiday home using our “pension pot”, instead of putting it into investment funds. We employed a local builder and other tradespeople to do the conversion work. It is let to holidaymakers for about 35 weeks a year. The income is, in effect, our pension, and we pay income tax on the rents we receive. We make the property available for up to six weeks a year, including school holidays, at no cost, through a charity that provides free holidays for families in need. We use it ourselves for about four weeks a year.
