Brighton moves to ban second homes

Councillors have voted in favour of investigating a ban on second home ownership, making it the first city in the UK to do so.

Brighton became the first city to take action against second home owners after demand for property in the coastal resort boomed during the pandemic.

Prices have soared in recent years. According to Rightmove, the average property is now £460,000, though most recent purchase have been apartments, where the average price is closer to £325,000.

One councillor described the cost of housing in the city as "frankly insane", saying that younger people are being priced out of living there.

Initially, the ban would apply only to new builds and restricted to certain areas, but councillors intend to reserve the right to extend it citywide.

On a smaller scale, St. Ives in Cornwall applied a similar ban in 2016. Results have been mixed. There the ban also applied to new builds, so demand has simply shifted to older properties.

The Welsh government have taken a different approach, proposing to increase council tax on empty properties by up to 300%.