As the cost of living soars, it comes as no surprise that many people are exploring side-hustles – and there’s one which is continuing to rise in popularity: short-term letting. However, the government is set to review short-term rental rules in England as part of its Tourism Recovery Plan – including regular checks and higher fees – with a plan to include devolved governments across the UK in the recovery process.*
The review of short-term tourist accommodation has been launched at a time when many areas have seen a rise in short-term holiday letting. The aim is to protect local communities from issues that can arise with short-term rentals, such as anti-social behaviour and long periods of vacancy.
New data from holiday home insurance comparison website, CompareNI.com, compared 2019, a normal year before the pandemic came into effect, against the same time period in 2022, revealing a 171% increase in the number of Northern Ireland holiday homes.
Short-term letting
The data from CompareNI.com, based on over 25,000 holiday home insurance policies across the UK, shows that County Antrim is currently leading the NI market in terms of holiday homes, followed closely by Donegal, Derry/Londonderry, County Down and Fermanagh.
Interestingly, only 21% of those surveyed had holiday homes abroad, 79% are classified as in the UK/Ireland – with 72% of that segment specifically in Northern Ireland.
Managing Director of CompareNI.com, Ian Wilson, comments: “Although the government review is designed to help protect local communities, I hope the new rules take into account that short-term and holiday rentals play an increasingly important role in the economy and are valuable sources of income for many homeowners.
“Demand for holiday properties in Northern Ireland understandably took a dive by 29% during the early phase of the pandemic, 2019 to 2020, but 2020 to 2021 saw the number of properties soar as people embraced the staycation. We witnessed a 142% increase in holiday homes to let across Northern Ireland, which has continued to increase, by 7%, across the same time period in 2022.
“In fact, 27% of all holiday homes surveyed in Northern Ireland are now available to let. Our data supports the trend that Airbnb-style letting is increasing in many parts of the country as people rent their holiday homes to help generate funds.
“It’s sensible to ensure these properties are protected with a holiday home insurance policy. The most popular holiday home type was found to be a detached bungalow, so to help ensure safety and also keep insurance costs down, all windows should have locks, BSI approved if possible – given that all access to the property is on ground level, as it can increase the risk of burglary.”
CompareNI.com is Northern Ireland’s largest price comparison website, and has helped over 650,000 users compare products from over 200 providers, including home insurance, holiday home insurance and landlord insurance. -ENDS-
