‘Tories’ tax raid is forcing me to sell my family’s 1850s holiday home’
Alix Bateman hopes to maintain links with Porthcawl after selling her childhood holiday getaway - Jay Williams
One of Alix Bateman’s earliest and most enduring memories is of mislaying her beloved pink hippo toy on the rocks at Porthcawl.
She was, perhaps, four years old.
She also remembers playing on the sand with her brother, rock pooling, visiting the funfair, and going on donkey rides – all the hallmarks of a classic old-school seaside summer holiday, staying with her grandmother Ella.
“We used to go down and visit every summer, at least once a year,” says Ms Bateman.
“It was a very big part of my childhood, and our family history there goes back until the 1850s.”
Family visits to the flat, which Ella had bought in 1985, continued long after her death.
In 2020, Ms Bateman and her brother inherited the property from their parents, and planned to continue visiting with their own children as well as renting it out on Airbnb to cover running costs.
But a growing realisation that neither of them had much time to spend in Wales, plus the practicalities of paying for and administering the property, has forced them into a painful decision.
Ms Bateman hoped to continue visiting the flat with her children, as well as renting it out on Airbnb - Jay Williams
The flat went on the market in June with Chris Abraham Property at £150,000.
“I do feel sad about it,” says Ms Bateman, 57, who lives in Clapham, south-west London, with her 18-year-old son and their two Bedlington terriers.
“About a year after we inherited it, my brother and I realised that we had only really visited it once or twice ourselves. Our kids are no longer at bucket and spade age, and there were a lot of bills and a lot of admin involved in renting it.”
Second homeowners, even those with long-term links to a location, have had a tough time of late.
In the Budget, Jeremy Hunt sounded the death knell on the furnished holiday lettings tax regime.
This scheme currently allows some 127,000 owners of homes that are let out fully furnished to deduct mortgage income payments from their rental income, a privilege which other landlords lost in 2020.
From April 2025, this tax loophole will be closed, along with lower capital gains tax on furnished rental homes.
The idea is to encourage landlords to sell up which, in theory, will bring more stock onto the market for local people.
Local councils, meanwhile, are using powers introduced in 2023 to deter second-home buyers by doubling their council tax bills.
Ms Bateman fondly remembers seaside holidays at her grandmother's flat in Porthcawl
Telegraph analysis recently revealed that by next year, more than three quarters of second home owners will face council tax surcharges, while simultaneously paying more for household bills and maintenance.
The tax burden is high, and growing – in April, Bridgend County Borough Council, which includes Porthcawl, announced a 200pc surcharge for second home owners.
The surcharge will rise to 300pc after two years – one of the highest levels in Wales.
The problem with Ms Bateman’s property is most certainly not lack of demand from holidaymakers. The flat rents out at about £120 per night.
Winter trade was slow but it was solidly booked over the Easter, spring half-term, and summer holidays by a mixture of young families and surfers.
In September, during Porthcawl’s annual Elvis festival, fans of The King flying in from around the world would snap it up.
“I also wanted less admin in my life, fewer emails to answer,” says Ms Bateman who runs The Glebe House London, an events venue.
When the flat does sell, she plans to use her share of the proceeds to help her university-bound son with fees and costs. She also realises that selling the property doesn’t have to mean cutting ties with her past.
“I do want to keep links with Porthcawl when the flat is sold.
“I know I will be back, I just won’t be in that particular property,” she says.
Difficulties making second homes stack up is not solely a UK problem
Britain’s exit from the European Union has also put the squeeze on owners of overseas properties, like Aled Evans.
Aled Evans decided to sell his Spanish flat to a French couple for €70,000 (£59,000) in May last year - Mark Pinder
In 2018, he spent €66,000 (£55,670) on a two-bedroom apartment in the Condado de Alhama golf resort in Murcia, Spain.
The plan was to use the flat as a family getaway for him and his two daughters, now aged 11 and 14, and to rent it out in between to cover its running costs.
At first everything worked well.
The family, who live in Bedlington, Northumberland, could jump on a flight from Newcastle Airport, and would visit three or four times a year to relax by the pool and enjoy a round of golf.
Renting the flat out on Airbnb earned “about £5,000 or £6,000” per year – enough to cover bills and maintenance – and it seemed like a win-win situation.
“I thought it might be a good investment too because they were building new flats at the resort,” says Mr Evans, 49 who runs his own travel company, My Local Tour.
Then the Brexit deal was completed and things changed overnight.
“My Spanish taxes went up – as a non-EU resident I had to pay 24pc tax to the Spanish government,” says Mr Evans.
“For me to get the income I needed meant becoming completely uncompetitive compared to the other owners, who are mostly European and were not paying such high tax.
“It was pointless to keep it on the site, because nobody was interested. It just became untenable.”
Last year, Mr Evans decided to sell the flat. It sold for €70,000 to a French couple in May.
“After I had paid all the fees I just about broke even,” he says.
The girls have taken the sale of their holiday home with equanimity.
“They were a bit sad about it but it means we will be able to try out lots of different places, instead of always going to Spain.”
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