If you’ve taken a stroll along the Eastbourne seafront lately, you’ll have noticed something a bit different. It’s not just the retirees and the day-trippers from London anymore. There’s a new energy in the town, one that feels much more permanent. I was chatting to a landlord down by the pier recently who’s been in the game for twenty years. He told me he’s finally pulling his two-bedroom flat off the holiday platforms and putting it onto a standard long-term tenancy. When I asked him why, he didn’t even hesitate. ‘The faff factor,’ he said. ‘I’m done with the faff.’
He’s not the only one. For a long time, the trend in East Sussex was to chase the high-season holiday pound. Airbnb and similar sites made it look easy to charge double for a weekend, rinse and repeat. But the tide is turning. Experience shows that the “glamour” of holiday lets is being replaced by the steady, reliable heartbeat of the long-term rental market. Whether it’s the changing tax rules or the influx of young professionals fleeing the high costs of Brighton, Eastbourne has become a prime spot for people who want to settle, not just visit. If you’re a property owner trying to make sense of this shift, your best bet is to find professional letting agents in Eastbourne who can help you navigate the transition from short-term chaos to long-term stability.
The End of the Short-Term ‘Gold Rush’
To be honest, the holiday let market isn’t what it used to be. A few years ago, you could put a decent-looking sofa and a Nespresso machine in a flat near the Towner Gallery, and you’d be booked solid all summer. Now, the market is saturated. There are so many options for tourists that you have to work twice as hard to get a booking. I’ve seen landlords spending thousands on professional photography and interior design just to stand out, only to have their profits eaten up by platform fees and the rising cost of laundry services.
Then there’s the maintenance aspect. Holiday guests can be lovely, but they don’t treat a property like a home. They’re there to have a good time, which often means more wear and tear than you’d get from a resident who actually lives there. I remember one landlord who had to replace her carpet three times in two years because of spilt red wine and sand from the beach. With a long-term tenant, you don’t get that. They bring their own rugs, they look after the place, and they’ve got a vested interest in keeping the boiler working and the walls clean.
The tax man hasn’t helped either. The government’s decision to abolish the Furnished Holiday Let (FHL) tax regime has been a bit of a wake-up call. The perks that used to make holiday letting so lucrative, like full mortgage interest relief, are disappearing. When you sit down and actually crunch the numbers, the gap between what you earn from a holiday let and what you get from a steady monthly rent check is smaller than it’s ever been. And that’s before you factor in the cost of your own time spent answering messages at 10 PM on a Friday.
A New Type of Renter Is Moving In
It’s not just about landlords wanting out; it’s about a new demographic wanting in. Eastbourne is no longer the place where people only go to retire. I’m seeing more young families and professional couples looking for homes here. Why? Because Brighton has become prohibitively expensive. You can get a three-bedroom house in a nice part of Eastbourne for the price of a cramped two-bed flat in Hove. For someone who works from home three days a week, the 90-minute train into London Victoria is a small price to pay for having the South Downs on their doorstep.
Remote work has changed everything for this town. It used to be that if you worked in a high-paying job, you had to live in the city. Now, as long as you have a decent Wi-Fi connection and a spare bedroom for an office, you can live anywhere. These ‘digital nomads’ (though they’d probably just call themselves ‘people with jobs’) are looking for long-term security. They want to know they won’t be asked to leave in June so the landlord can hike the prices for the summer season.
This shift is creating a much more stable community. When people rent long-term, they shop in the local greengrocers, they join the local gym, and they send their kids to the local schools. It’s better for the town’s economy as a whole. As an agent, I find it much more rewarding to help a couple find their first proper home together than to hand over keys to someone who’s just here for a weekend of fish and chips and a walk on the pier.
The Regulatory Squeeze and Safety First
Landlords are also becoming a bit more cautious about the “legal faff” involved in short-term lets. There’s talk of tighter regulations and licensing schemes for holiday rentals to prevent local people from being priced out of their own towns. While that’s still a work in progress in many areas, the long-term rental market offers a much more established and predictable legal framework. Yes, there are plenty of rules to follow with an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST), but at least you know where you stand.
The upcoming changes to rental laws, like the abolition of ‘no-fault’ evictions, might sound scary to some, but in reality, if you have a good tenant, you never need to worry about evicting them anyway. Most of the landlords I work with value a tenant who pays on time and keeps the place tidy above all else. They’d much rather have a five-year tenancy than have to find a new person every six months. It’s about building a relationship, not just managing a transaction.
Plus, keeping on top of safety certificates like EICRs and Gas Safety checks is much simpler when you have access to the property via a tenant who actually wants those things done. In a holiday let, you’re often rushing in between guests, trying to get a plumber in on a four-hour turnaround on a Saturday afternoon. It’s stressful, it’s expensive, and it’s usually unnecessary.
Comparing Gross Revenue vs. Net Profit
This is usually the point where people start to see things differently. Holiday lets can look great at first, especially when everything’s booked and busy. But over time, it’s not always that simple. There are quieter stretches where nothing’s coming in, but the costs are still there in the background. Council tax, bills, bits that need fixing. It doesn’t really pause.
With a long-term rental, it’s a bit more straightforward. The tenant covers most of the day-to-day costs, and you know roughly what’s coming in each month. It might not feel as exciting, but it’s easier to deal with. I’ve had a few landlords say the same thing after switching. It’s not just about the money, it’s the fact they’re not constantly thinking about it.
And then there’s the gaps between lets. In Eastbourne, places tend to get taken fairly quickly if they’re in good shape. So you’re not usually sitting there waiting too long. Short-term let’s can be hit and miss. One quiet spell, or a few cancellations, and suddenly it feels a bit uncertain. That’s what seems to put people off more than anything.
Conclusion
Eastbourne is growing up. The town is evolving from a seasonal resort into a year-round coastal hub, and the property market is simply reflecting that. While there will always be a place for holiday lets, the real strength of the town’s property market lies in its residents. We’re seeing more investment in the town centre, better facilities, and a real sense that this is a place where people want to build lives.
For landlords, the message is simple: stability is the new gold. The days of making an easy killing on holiday lets are largely over, replaced by a need for high-quality, long-term homes. By focusing on the local market and providing good homes for the people who actually live and work here, you’re not just making a smarter financial decision; you’re helping the town thrive.
At the end of the day, property is about people. Whether it’s the young professional moving down from London or the family looking for a bit more space, the demand for long-term rentals in Eastbourne isn’t going anywhere. It’s a solid, reliable investment in a town that’s finally finding its feet again. And to be honest, after the craziness of the last few years, a bit of reliability is exactly what we all need.
