Landlord templates, Newquay.

Newquay rental market, what landlords need to know

Newquay is a coastal town in Cornwall with a population of approximately 22,000-24,000 and the UK's premier surf destination. The town draws approximately 1.5 million visitors per year and has one of the highest concentrations of short-term let and AirBnB accommodation in the UK. The rental market has two distinct layers: (1) TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY SECTOR WORKERS: the tourism economy employs a large seasonal and year-round hospitality workforce (hotels; surf schools; restaurants; activity providers; surf shops) requiring affordable private rental accommodation; the Boardmasters Festival (August; 55,000+ capacity; headlined by major international acts) and the Newquay Boardmasters Surf Competition (one of the WSL Qualifying Series events) generate significant annual event hospitality demand; Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership data consistently identifies accommodation costs as a key barrier to seasonal hospitality worker retention in Newquay; (2) CORNWALL NEWQUAY AIRPORT: Cornwall Airport Newquay (NQY; IATA: NQY; approximately 5 miles north-east of the town centre) is the primary commercial airport serving Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly; the airport employs approximately 200-300 direct workers and supports extensive ancillary employment (ground handling; car hire; retail); routes include London Gatwick (British Airways and easyJet); Manchester; various seasonal European leisure destinations; the airport is also home to the UK's first commercial spaceport (Spaceport Cornwall — Virgin Orbit launch operations; though the January 2023 launch did not achieve orbit; future launch ambitions continue under Spaceport Cornwall); (3) FISTRAL BEACH AND SURF CULTURE: Fistral Beach (one of the UK's best-known surf breaks; hosts national and international competitions) drives a surf economy of surf equipment rental; surf schools (approximately 20+ surf schools operating in Newquay); surf retail; and the international surfing community that lives and works in and around Newquay year-round; (4) SHORT-TERM LET CONTEXT: Newquay has one of the highest AirBnB densities in England; Cornwall Council has been consulting on measures to manage the impact of holiday lets on local housing availability (following the UK Government's consultation on short-term lets registers; the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 enables LPAs to make an Article 4 Direction removing PD rights for short-term lets — Cornwall Council is actively considering this); the principal residency and second homes debate in Cornwall has been particularly acute in Newquay and other North Cornwall coastal communities. A39 coast road; A30 to Truro (~14 miles; ~25 min) and Penzance (~43 miles; ~55 min); Great Western Railway Newquay branch line (Newquay to Par — then mainline to Truro; Penzance; Plymouth; London Paddington; approximately 4 hrs 20 min to London total).