A council could be missing out on almost £500,000 of revenue from hundreds of holiday lets escaping bills for council tax or business rates.

The “alarming” figures reveal almost 250 self-catering retreats in the CT5 postcode of the Canterbury district avoid paying the costs - which opponents say has led to a “significant” loss of income.

Residents have long-raised concerns about Whitstable being jam-packed with second homes and holiday lets, with neighbours complaining about a loss of community.

The Canterbury District Green Party uncovered the statistics through a survey of online government data and a Freedom of Information request to the Valuation Office Agency.

It was discovered that 243 properties in the CT5 postcode - which covers Seasalter, Whitstable, Tankerton, Chestfield and Swalecliffe - are registered as self-catering holiday homes and have a rateable value (RV) below £12,000.

As registered businesses they do not have to pay council tax, but are also afforded a 100% discount on business rates because of their low RV.

The Green Party has estimated if the registered holiday lets were all paying the average Band D council tax, this would generate £485,492 in annual revenue for the council.

Gorrell councillor Clare Turnbull said: “These are rough calculations based on official data but the implications are alarming at a time when vital local services are being starved of funds.

“I am disappointed by the council leader’s indifference, which is letting down the residents of Whitstable who are genuinely disturbed by the impact of Airbnbs in the town.

“The rules are quite complicated because only the first registered holiday home qualifies for business rates relief and a few properties are clearly part of larger businesses.

“But the data clearly indicates many Airbnb properties pay nothing for their local services.

“This data strongly indicates Canterbury City Council may be missing out on significant council tax funds due to many holiday lets paying no local tax and this deserves a full investigation.”

It is understood that current rules dictate if a person has a second home and that property is available to let for at least 140 days per year, it does not pay council tax and goes onto the business rates list.

If the holiday let has a business rates rateable value of £12,000 or less, the owner will receive relief of 100%.

The city council does not have a say on this and it is the Valuation Office agency that makes the decision on whether a property should pay council tax or business rates, and what the rateable value is.

The local Labour Party has blasted the “Punch and Judy politics surrounding Airbnbs” and called for “practical solutions, not political scoring”.

Cllr Chris Cornell - who owns a holiday let - said: “Airbnbs definitely need more regulation but here the problem seems to be with the way that business rates are calculated - they aren’t fit for purpose, which is why Labour would scrap them.

“If you were to argue that this is ‘lost money’ to the council you should also argue that all online or kitchen table businesses in the district are ‘lost’ also as they are also exempt.”

Council leader Ben Fitter-Harding (Con) says the draft Local Plan - the authority’s housing blueprint - includes proposals to introduce controls through the planning application process to tackle the number of short-term retreats.

On the proliferation of holiday lets, Cllr Fitter-Harding said: “This is a national issue and I am aware of the government’s recent consultation, which suggests that legislation is on the horizon.

“It is not within the council’s gift to change the rules on small business rate relief for holiday lets but it did respond to the consultation to put across the challenges our district faces.”

He says premises registered for business rates are not entitled to the “core universal service” the city council offers - bin collections.

This means they must pay for commercial waste services, and the local authority will “continue to crack down” on those using services “inappropriately”.

“Businesses are not entitled to bin collections and so the council does not bear the cost of disposing of their waste,” Mr Fitter-Harding added.

“It is incorrect to say the council is missing out on income on anything like the scale [the Green Party] says.

“The revenue would be balanced by the associated cost of collecting and disposing of the waste if they were paying council tax as [the Green Party] suggests they should be.”

Responding to Mr Fitter-Harding’s comments, Cllr Turnbull welcomed a holiday let policy being considered as part of the Local Plan but says there is “no timeline for when any changes will be implemented”.

“There is clearly a significant amount of lost money that could be funding vital public services..."

“Many of the Whitstable residents I represent are very concerned about the hollowing out of their community - this is happening right now and needs to be addressed immediately,” she added.

“If Mr Fitter-Harding were to visit Whitstable, local residents could show him on bin collection day how many homes now run as holiday let businesses appear to be having their rubbish collected by the council for free.

“Even if our estimate of £485,000 in lost revenue isn’t exact - there is clearly a significant amount of lost money that could be funding vital public services in the district and it needs to be investigated as a matter of urgency.”