A report which canvassed 1,600 residents in one of the UK’s largest seaside cities is calling for mandatory registration of second homes and tighter holiday let rules as pressure grows on its housing stock.

Its findings and recommendations were presented to Brighton’s full Council as part of its City Plan Consultation and highlighted three main areas of concern, offering what it describes as  ‘practical and achievable solutions’.

Key workers

According to The Argus, it calls on the council to devote key sections of its City Plan to ‘affordability and local income measures’, as well as specify ‘how key workers will be supported, and how ‘developments will honour the need to nurture a sense of belonging and community.’

It also says that ‘so-called ‘second homes’ which ‘don’t serve the housing needs of our communities’ are managed more adequately and that a register of second homes is set up and that holiday lets  such as Airbnbs – are ‘better regulated.’

The report highlights the case of Royal Sussex Hospital nurse Chidi Ezikpe to highlight the impact of high housing costs.

The only way my wife and I can afford to pay our very high rent is to work extra shifts.”

Ezikpe says: “The only way my wife and I can afford to pay our very high rent is to work extra shifts and work during our annual leave. It seems like we are working all the time, and sacrificing family time together, just to pay the rent”.

Student concerns also feature prominently in the report, with Varndean College student Lysander Pierce saying that after university, the cost of homes meant she: “Won’t be able to return home. Many of my friends are also worried.”

Brighton Council is now deciding how these proposals could be incorporated into its future housing policies.