Propertymark met with the Welsh Conservative spokesperson for housing and Member of the Welsh Parliament for Aberconwy, Janet Finch-Saunders MS, on Friday 12 November in a roundtable discussion to examine the heated focus on Welsh second homes.

Propertymark previously worked with Ms. Finch-Saunders in early October when she urged the Welsh Government to review the possibility of developing a dedicated housing tribunal for Wales, following increasing regulatory divergence with England.

Now she has turned her support to combat the growing scrutiny of second homeowners in Wales. A hot debate, Ms Finch-Saunders has been publicly critical of the council tax premiums in Wales for second homeowners acknowledging their place as a beneficial one within the local economy.

In Wales, the tourism industry amounts to some 13.3 per cent of the total economy with approx. 100,000 people employed in the tourism industry. This accounts for nearly ten per cent of the Welsh workforce.

Propertymark’s Devolved Policy Manager, Daryl McIntosh engineered the roundtable and joined alongside Policy Officer, Faye Greaves with Welsh representatives from both ARLA Propertymark and NAEA Propertymark.

Perhaps the most vital topic was centred around the classification of ‘second homeowner’.

The varying types of second home purchasers from landlords who rent their properties on either a long- or short-term basis to those who simply visit when they want a break away from their permanent residence all add different levels of benefit to the local economy yet are polarised under a catch-all classification.