Cornwall is the highest earning area of the UK for holiday let landlords with properties earning more than £40m in just three months from July to September last year, according to research by WealthofGeeks.com.

The website found average nightly prices were £84 for a room, £113 for an apartment or £117 for a whole house or cottage and holidaymakers booked a total of 476,910 nights in short-stay rentals over the period.

The London borough of Westminster was the second highest earning location, generating over £34m during the same period of 2023.

Average nightly prices were £113 for a room, £147 for an apartment or £435 for a house, with a total of 304,790 nights booked last summer.

Camden ranks in third place for holiday let earnings, generating over £21m for landlords over the same three months of last year when 172,500 nights were booked in the borough’s short-stay rentals.

The average cost of a room there was £123, while an apartment cost £156, and a house £140.

Two other London boroughs made up the top five highest earning holiday let destinations: Hackney, followed by Kensington and Chelsea.

Brighton and Hove came in sixth place in the earnings table, but the rest of the top ten were all London boroughs: Islington, Southwark, Tower Hamlets and Lambeth – despite restrictions in the capital preventing landlords from renting properties as holiday rentals for more than 90 days in a year.

Overall from July to September last summer the UK holiday rental market generated £739,211,390, according to the research.

The study comes after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a clampdown on tax relief for holiday let landlords in his Spring Budget last month.

He said: “I am concerned that this tax regime is creating a distortion, meaning that there are not enough properties available for long term rental by local people.”

From next April, holiday let owners will no longer be able to offset their mortgage interest against their profits to reduce their tax bill, nor will they benefit from certain other tax perks under the furnished holiday let regime.

But a spokesperson for Wealth of Geeks says: “Holiday rentals play a vital role in the UK’s tourism industry by supporting local economies, providing accommodation to enhance visitor experience, and promoting tourism in diverse regions across the country.

“Tourism also helps to promote awareness of lesser-known areas, helping to distribute tourist spending more evenly across the country.

“While some destinations may experience seasonal fluctuations in tourism often in the summer months, holiday rentals attract visits year-round, helping to sustain economies and businesses during off-peak seasons.”