RENTING PROPERTIES

By Jason Moore THE holiday rental market has been given an added lift to the property market on the island for many years. Second home owners find that renting out their homes is a major source of revenue and helps pay the mortgage. Now, the local authorities have been threatening a crackdown for years. This year, with local hotels half empty, this so-called illegal practice is certainly in the spotlight. I am sure that the majority of owners of rental properties would quite willing to pay all the necessary taxes and meet all the necessary criteria if the local authorities could simplify the local exercise. I get the impression that if you want to rent out your studio apartment legally you need the same paperwork almost as a small hotel! This is outrageous because at the end of the day I thought that you could do what you liked with your own home. If the system was simple then I feel the tax man would get his or her pound of flesh and owners of rental properties would know that they are acting within the law. Crackdowns may cause fear and be well received by hoteliers but trying to legalise the rental market is certainly a can of worms. The only solution is to make the whole thing simple. It could be a job for local councils, the present legislation is far too complicated.