Pensioners eye holiday lets for income boost

More retirees are considering using holiday properties to boost their retirement income this summer in a bid to cash in on the post-lockdown staycation boom.

Inquiries from owners interested in renting out their houses and flats to tourists have risen by 80pc this year compared with 2019, according to Sykes Holiday Cottages, a lettings firm. It saw a sudden spike in the number of owners asking to list their properties following Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s announcement of the stamp duty cut on July 8.

Inquiries since then are more than double the level they were at the same time last year, with homeowners quick to check how much they could earn if they bought an extra property.

Tina Bird, 59, of Norfolk, has been renting out her cottage since she retired from her job as an infant schoolteacher in 2017. Holiday letting has become her main source of income, she said, as bookings remain busy all year, thanks in part to a hot tub and a log burner.

She said: “Having had no prior experience, I didn’t know what to expect initially. But I was keen to take on a new project in my retirement. Running a holiday home has given me a reason to get out of bed in the morning.”

However, lockdown meant that all bookings had to be either cancelled or postponed. Normal rental levels have resumed since the travel ban was lifted and there has been a large jump in bookings this summer as anxious travellers opt to stay in the country during the pandemic, she said.

The average income of a holiday let owner was £21,000 in 2019 – up from £20,000 in 2018, according to Sykes Holiday Cottages. The top three earning regions for holiday lets are the Peak District, where yearly earnings are £14,000 for a two-bedroom cottage and £27,000 for four bedrooms, Cumbria and rural England bordering Wales, including Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire.

However, Susan Hill of Susan Hill Financial Planning, an advisory firm, said the income from holiday lets was too risky to depend on in retirement because of its seasonal nature.

She said no retiree should rely on property as a means to top up their state pension as there was no guarantee that they would receive steady monthly income and the capital would be locked up should they need access to money in a hurry.