“Nearly half” of Dwyfor Meirionydd housing stock was sold as second homes last year dramatic new stats revea

“This is a crisis that WILL devastate communities unless action is taken” – Plaid’s Mabon ap Gwynfor MS

Almost half of the housing stock in Dwyfor Meirionydd were sold as second homes last year new statistics have revealed.

New data from the Welsh Revenue Authority shows that 44% of the properties sold in Dwyfor Meirionydd in 2020-21 were classified as Higher Rates – the vast majority of which would have been sold as second homes according to local MS Plaid Cymru’s Mabon ap Gwynfor.

The statistics also show that Dwyfor Meirionydd contributed the most in land transaction tax to the Welsh treasury coffers due to the high number of sales from Higher Rates properties, followed by Anglesey and Gower.

Plaid Cymru Housing Spokesperson and Member of the Senedd for Dwyfor Meirionydd called the statistics “devastating” and called for urgent Government action.

The figures come ahead of the rally organised by Cymdeithas yr Iaith which will take place today (Saturday, July 10) to protest the “collapse of communities” at the site of the Tryweryn dam in Bala.

Mr ap Gwynfor, who will be speaking at the rally today, called for direct intervention to mitigate the crisis including trebling the Land Transaction tax on purchases of Second Homes and changing planning laws to allow councils to impose a cap on the number of second homes.

He warned that unless steps were taken to take action, “more communities” would be lost. 

Plaid Cymru Housing Spokesperson Mabon ap Gwynfor MS said,

“These statistics are devastating and confirm what we already knew: This is a crisis that will devastate communities if urgent Government action isn’t taken. 

“Nearly half of the housing stock in my constituency of Dwyfor Meirionydd were sold as second homes followed by Pembrokeshire, Carmarthen West and Ynys Mon – areas where communities there have been blighted by the second homes crisis.

“The Labour Government in Cardiff has stood by and watched as our communities are engulfed by the housing crisis. Their latest announcement this week was weak and kicks the problem into the long grass. Consultations, trials and pilot schemes are not going to be enough. What our communities need is action – and fast. 

“Plaid Cymru demands direct interventions to mitigate the housing crisis, including trebling the Land Transaction tax on purchases of Second Homes, changing planning laws to allow councils to impose a cap on the number of second homes, and closing the loophole that allows second homeowners to register their property as “businesses” in order to avoid paying the council tax premium, and amending the Local Government Act to empower local authorities to better control the housing stock.

“My message to the Labour Government in Cardiff is this. Take action now – before it is too late. Unless you take steps to take action now, then we will see more communities lost, and more people moving from their communities. Mae gan bawb yr hawl i fyw adra. Everyone has a right to live at home.