Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to scrapping tax breaks for all second homes, and not just short-term lets, as a further step in dealing with the rural housing affordability crisis.

The government has announced that it will abolish the Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL) tax regime, equalising the tax treatment of landlords with short-term holiday lets and those with standard residential properties.

More broadly, the government has recently introduced a new power which will allow local authorities to double the council tax charge on second homes from 1 April 2025. In 2016, the government also introduced a three percent Stamp Duty Land Tax surcharge on purchases of additional homes.

The government has no current plans to make further changes to the tax system with respect to second homes. All government tax policy remains under review.