'My £20k bill for holiday lets deemed second homes'

A woman who manages holiday lettings in a seaside resort has said she faces going out of business after the flats were declared to be "second homes".

Judith Robbins runs eight self-catering units in one building in Blackpool, which she lets out to families on a tight budget.

But in October, the 75-year-old was told six of her Westward Holiday Apartments near North Pier had been reclassified, leaving her with a council tax debt of about £20,000 that she said she could not afford to pay.

The government said people had been given a year's warning that "properties should meet the rules".

Mrs Robbins was billed just over £1,500 for each of the Band A properties going back two years.

She said: "I read in the newspapers about this second homes crackdown, but we never considered for a moment it would impact us.

"It really is unbelievable. We've been here over 22 years and I've never once been behind with any of my payments."

Under the old rules, Mrs Robbins was billed about £3,500 a year in business rates and received small business rates relief.

But the holiday apartments were reclassified as second homes by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) under new tax rules that came into force in 2023.

Now, Mrs Robbins is liable to pay about £9,000 a year in council tax.

"I don't know what we are going to do… it means we can't afford to stay because they want more money from the flats than we actually take," she said.

The tax changes came as part of a government crackdown on second homes and holiday lets, following claims they were limiting the supply of housing in coastal and rural communities.

Since the rules came into force, more than 9,000 properties in England have been reclassified.

Ian White, from hotel association Stay Blackpool, said he had been contacted by eight other business owners in a similar situation in the town.

He said: "It's significantly hit the traditional holiday flats that Blackpool and every other seaside resort in the country relies on.

"All of the businesses that have contacted me are considering selling because they don't know where they're going to get the money to cover these new bills."

Mrs Robbins said she was appealing against the decision, with the help of her grandson, but had been told the process could take up to six months.

Her grandson, Jordan, said: "Nobody wants to help, nobody wants to get involved.

"This legislation needs to change or businesses and people's lives will be affected."

The VOA, which will adjudicate on the appeals until it is scrapped in 2026 and its functions merged into His Majesty's Revenue and Customs, told the BBC it was "acutely aware of the difficult economic situation faced by some customers".

A spokesman said the agency was "currently dealing with a high volume of cases" and apologised to those experiencing delays.

A Blackpool Council spokesperson said the authority had been contacted by "many operators of self-catering holiday accommodation" who had been affected by the changes and it had advised them to contact their MP for support.

They added: "If we receive evidence that an appeal has been submitted, the income recovery process will be put on hold for 90 days.

"If their case isn't resolved within this time, we advise them to get back in touch so we can discuss an extension."

Blackpool South MP Chris Webb told the BBC he had raised Mrs Robbins' case with Housing Secretary Angela Rayner.

Labour MP Webb said he "understands the significant pressure this is putting on small, long-standing operators like Judith Robbins".

"I will continue to press for a fairer, more responsive system," he added.

But in areas like the Lake District, where second homes or holiday lets can account for more than 50% of the housing in some places, the rule change has been seen as necessary.

Liberal Democrat Tim Farron, MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, said: "Communities like ours in the Lakes and the [Yorkshire] Dales have a situation where so many of the properties that could be lived in by local families are either second homes occupied by people who hardly live there at all, or are short-term lets.

"You get a situation where so many properties are gobbled up by non-permanent residents that there is nowhere for local people to live.

"You lose your primary schools, secondary schools, GPs… you lose your communities."

But Farron said he did have sympathy for the Robbins family and those in a similar situation.

He said the current system was "far too complicated" and called for wider planning reform.

A government spokesman said: "We believe it is right properties should meet these rules."

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