An area has been identified for a two-year study of the impact which second homes, Airbnbs, other holiday lets and empty properties can have on local communities.

The area of Dwyfor – a peninsula in north Wales, stretching into the North Sea – has been identified as the pilot area by the Welsh Government.

A statement from the government says the pilot “will run for at least two years and will provide essential learning for other parts of Wales.”

The study will monitor the effectiveness or otherwise of measures taken by the Welsh Government including allowing local councils to dramatically increase council tax on second homes, holiday lets and Airbnbs; a programme to renovate empty properties; a plan to preserve and encourage the use of the Welsh language in communities; and changes to planning policy making some owners seek consent before turning their properties into holiday lets.

Nationally, Wales has also pledged to introduce a statutory licensing system for all visitor accommodation – consultation for which has recently finished – and the government is considering potential changes to Land Transaction Tax (the Welsh equivalent of stamp duty) to increase the tax on non-owner-occupied homes.

Gwynedd, the Welsh county in which Dwyfor is located, is one of 15 Welsh local authorities to have signed up to a Welsh Government backed leasing scheme which offers incentives for property owners who lease their properties to the local authority.

Other Welsh Government schemes which will be studied in the two year pilot include Self-Build Wales – which offers loans to self-builders – and Homebuy, an equity loan scheme aimed to rural communities in particular. 

In addition, some £1m has been identified for Dwyfor to buy long-term empty properties in a bid to bring them back into residential use.