Empty homes should be targeted by the Government, rather than punishing the short-let sector, a holiday let firm has argued.

Sykes Holiday Cottages claims small holiday let businesses have been caught up in policies aimed at improving housing availability.

Ben Spier, of Sykes Holiday Cottages, explained: “Instead of penalising holiday let businesses, Government focus should shift to building new homes or policy tackling the many more properties and land that lay vacant.”

It reports that there are nearly 3.5 times as many long-term empty homes in England than holiday lets, which contribute little to local tourism economies.

In the absence of Government data on the number of short-term lets, Sykes analysed AirDNA data to estimate that there are 212,500 short-term rentals throughout England compared with 719,500 long-term empty homes.

Its findings also revealed that rules allowing some councils to charge increased rates of council tax were most impacting their businesses, with 58% affected.

A third of owners believe they will be impacted by the removal of the Furnished Holiday Lettings tax regime in April, while a similar number have been affected by the Welsh policy increasing the minimum number of days they are required to let a property to qualify for business rates.

A mandatory short-lets registration scheme and tougher planning laws look set to take effect soon in England, giving local councils power to carve out locations where holiday lets would require planning permission.

Many Labour MPs have called for even tougher rules in a bid to address the imbalance between holiday homes and available long-term rental properties in many communities.

Sykes reports that holiday let businesses generated an average income of £24,700 last year, slightly up on 2023 (£24,500), despite tougher economic conditions.

The Cotswolds retained its position as the most profitable UK region to run a short-term rental, with owners in the area earning £29,000 in 2024, up £500 year-on-year.