CRAVEN’S HOLIDAY LET OWNERS ARE INCREASINGLY SWITCHING TO LONG-TERM RENTALS
Dacre Son and Hartley created on 4th November 2026
Owners of holiday lets and second homes in Craven and the Yorkshire Dales are increasingly switching their properties to long-term rentals, according to Yorkshire’s largest independent estate agent, Dacre, Son & Hartley.
The company has more than doubled the number of rental homes it manages across Yorkshire in the past 12 months. Its expanding residential lettings and property management division is benefiting from rising demand among landlords seeking expert guidance on increasingly complex legislation.
In Settle and the surrounding towns and villages, the firm is also seeing owners turn away from short-term holiday letting following the removal of tax advantages, rising utility bills and ongoing cleaning costs. Owners of second homes must also pay North Yorkshire Council’s 100% council tax premium.
Senior lettings manager at Dacre, Son & Hartley’s Settle office, Robert Senior said: “The rental market in and around Settle and the southern Yorkshire Dales is different from many other areas because there are nearly always more tenants than available homes.
“This is partly because there are very few professional landlords in these areas, whilst tenants often want long-term rentals. Crucially, most tenants also work locally, so without rental properties, somewhere like Settle would lose a significant proportion of its workforce, which is the backbone of the town.
“In recent years, we’ve worked with many holiday-let owners who have switched to long-term rentals, and this trend is set to continue. Although the overall rental income is often slightly lower than from a holiday let, there are many other benefits, particularly since the furnished holiday lettings tax regime was abolished last year.
“A long-term rental offers a stable, predictable monthly income without the need to cover utility bills or pay high fees to online booking platforms.
“Cleaning and maintenance costs are also an issue in places like Settle and the Yorkshire Dales. Cleaners often travel in from outside the area, adding to the time and cost involved. This can make one-night stays unviable, and the situation could become more challenging following Airbnb’s announcement that, from later this year, hosts will no longer be able to ask guests to complete tasks such as stripping beds, removing rubbish, or washing and putting away dishes.”
Robert added: “Although new legislation in the Renters’ Rights Act has been a major talking point for landlords nationally, it has made very little difference to our sector of the market. Much of the focus has been on the abolition of Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions, but in a market such as Settle, these were rarely used.
“Some landlords are also nervous about the new 12-month restriction period for evicting tenants on specific grounds, such as wanting to sell a property or move into it themselves. However, this is less of an issue here because most tenants are looking for a minimum 12-month tenancy in the first place.
“This is particularly true for one, two and three-bedroom homes, which are in especially high demand. We’re keen to speak to owners of similar properties who want to reduce their day-to-day management responsibilities and running costs in favour of a regular, predictable monthly rental income.”
Dacre, Son & Hartley’s lettings division offers landlords both a fully managed service and a tenant-finding package and continues to expand its rental portfolio across Yorkshire.
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