Short-term lets and second homes ‘hollowing out' communities and driving up house prices

Cara Hunter, the SDLP MLA, said the issue is a particular problem in the seaside towns and villages on Derry’s north coast.

“The rising number of second homes is pushing them out of the very towns that they were raised in. There are no children in the streets. There are over 532 second homes in the one small town of Portstewart. That leads not only to a breakdown of community but to so much more,” said the East Derry MLA.

Ms. Hunter made the comments at Stormont as she proposed a motion calling for the Executive to ‘bring forward proposals to address the impact of holiday homes and short-term lets in areas where they are having a negative effect’.

"It is not fair, and it is not right. It is ruining the very fabric of our towns and villages. Our towns are literally dying. We need the Executive to listen to us. We have empty streets with no children in them, and we have empty houses with no people in them. It really is killing our sense of community,” said the SDLP MLA, who claimed second homes were ‘hollowing out’ communities.

Foyle MLA Ciara Ferguson supported the motion.

"Sustainable, affordable and year-round vibrant communities must be achievable across all our rural, coastal and urban communities. The reality is this: our schools, businesses, services and communities cannot exist without people.

“Therefore, we all have a duty to ensure that all people have the opportunity to live, work and make a life for themselves in their local area and community,” she said.

The Sinn Féin MLA also expressed her ‘deep-rooted concerns about the general lack of delivery of social and affordable housing’.

“Whilst we are immensely proud of the history and culture of the area, from the Bogside to the Waterside, we are equally angry about the sight of boarded-up homes and the reality of rising rents and house prices when families are desperately calling out for support to find suitable, affordable and sustainable places to call ‘home’,” she stated.

DUP MLA Maurice Bradley spoke of the eye-watering average price of a home along the Atlantic coast from the mouth of Lough Foyle.

“On the north coast, in areas such as Portstewart, Portrush, Ballycastle, Portballintrae and beyond, even into the town of Coleraine, the sharp edge of our housing crisis is being driven by the unchecked growth of second homes and short-term lets.

"Since 2013, house prices in the Causeway Coast and Glens area have surged by almost 70 per cent while wages have barely moved. The price of an average home now sits at about £245,000, and over 85 per cent of properties are out of reach for the median earner.

"That is not a market: it is a locked door to local families, young people and key workers,” he declared.

Mr. Bradley said landlords find it more profitable to short-let.

"It is a massive problem that needs to be addressed along with the rest.

"Behind the postcards and summer football on the north coast, communities are hollowing out. Streets that once echoed with school runs and neighbourly chat now fall silent for months,” he declared.