A loophole has allowed Holiday/Second home owners to claim a £10,000 Government grant, even if their property is let for as little as 20 weeks a year. The funding was intended to help struggling small businesses through the Covid-19 crisis, yet due to a tax loophole, previously, Holiday Let/second home owners are allowed to "flip" their second homes into small businesses, that pay no Council Tax or Business rates. It is estimated that on this basis, over 55,000 "eligible" Holiday/second home owners have had access to over £0.5 Billion Pounds of taxpayers' money, during the crisis, with many claiming their "entitlement".

The Government funding was intended for local businesses, that are struggling to survive, however in all likelihood, most second home owners are seemingly unlikely to be in this predicament, during the current crisis. there are an estimated 280,000 homeless people in the UK who are in desperate need of a roof over their head and also many, particularly in the rural and coastal communities, who are priced out of the housing market, in part due to second home ownership.

On this basis, the actions of these exploitative opportunists, amounts to a national scandal and it is fundamentally unfair. A number of MP's have expressed their concern on this matter, but to date, there seems to have been little or no action to address this exploitation of the system. A Government enquiry is now desperately needed, with a view to reclaiming this money.

Thank You for reading. I respectfully urge you to sign this petition, in an attempt to reverse this injustice.