How many holiday homes and lets in Cornwall?
- rpwills
- Apr 14
- 3 min read
Summary
Before looking at the data for holiday homes and lets it’s important to look at the overall number of dwellings in Cornwall. There are three categories: all dwellings; dwellings on the council tax base and then the number of dwellings containing households. In 2024 there were 293,500 dwellings, 286,000 on the council tax list and 256,100 dwellings used for households.
Comparing the three sets of data gives some intriguing results. In 2024 there were 29,900 more dwellings on the council tax base than there were households recorded, while there were 37,400 more dwellings in total than households. Subtracting the council tax base figure from all dwellings results in 7,440 dwellings.
So how many second homes and holiday lets are there?
The council tax base gives a total of 14,123 second homes in 2024. The Valuation Office Agency states there are 11,450 holiday lets. Analysis of VOA data suggests that some of these lets are not technically dwellings therefore the figure of 7,440 is a more likely total. It should be noted that to qualify as a holiday let a property should be available for 140 days in a year and used as such for 70. The total number of actual lets is therefore probably far higher than 7,440 or 11,450. Reliable data on the total number of properties used as holiday lets is unavailable. However, official data sets may under estimate the total. Other sources could provide an indication, for example, Likibu gives a total of 15,500 holiday homes. It is also possible that not all dwellings used as second homes are counted as such.
Conclusion
Total figures for the number of properties used as second homes and/or let out for holiday purposes are in essence estimates. Therefore the total of second homes and holiday lets in Cornwall is probably far higher than the 19,000 figure derived from the data.
Data
Dwelling numbers
| Households | CTB | All dwell |
| ONS | DCLG | DCLG |
Year | Nos. | Nos. | Nos. |
2021 | 250537 | 277512 | 285534 |
2022 | 252607 | 279638 | 288262 |
2023 | 253537 | 282277 | 290976 |
2024 | 256080 | 286043 | 293483 |
Comparisons
| Households ONS | CTB minus Households | All dwell minus Households | All dwell minus CTB |
Year | Nos. | Nos. | Nos. | Nos. |
2021 | 250537 | 26975 | 34997 | 8022 |
2022 | 252607 | 27031 | 35655 | 8624 |
2023 | 253537 | 28740 | 37439 | 8699 |
2024 | 256080 | 29963 | 37403 | 7440 |
Holiday lets and second homes
| Holiday lets | Holiday lets | Second homes |
| VOA | est | CTB |
Year | Nos. | Nos. | Nos. |
2021 | 10690 | 8022 | 13260 |
2022 | 11700 | 8624 | 13292 |
2023 | 12380 | 8699 | 13140 |
2024 | 11450 | 7440 | 14123 |
Notes
A holiday let is a property, which is let out for a period for use by people for holidays. Whether a property used as a holiday let pays council tax or business rates depends on usage.
Business rates “apply to properties that are used for commercial purposes, specifically for providing short-term accommodation to paying guests. As of April 2023, holiday let business rates only apply if your holiday let meets certain criteria (your property was available to holiday let for 140 nights or more and was actually let for 70 nights or more, in the last 12 months).” [Coast and Country].
Sources
Likibu https://www.likibu.co.uk/
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Council Tax Base. Annual data
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government , (May 2025), Table 125: Dwelling stock estimates by local authorityLikibu https://www.likibu.co.uk/ district: 2001 – 2024.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, (January 2026), Live Table 615: Vacant Dwellings by Local Authority District, England, from 2004 to 2025.
Office for National Statistics, Census 2021. Households and Tenure, England and Wales 2021. Table TS054 – Tenure (NOMIS).
Office for National Statistics, (February 2026), Table 1a: Counts of dwelling stock by tenure in each local authority, England, 2022 to 2024.
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