Profile incomplete
10:05 AM, 19th February 2024, About 2 months ago 39
Text Size
The government has announced new rules to restrict short-term lets and give local communities more control over housing.
The changes, unveiled by Secretary of State for Levelling Up Housing and Communities, Michael Gove, will require planning permission for future short-term lets and create a mandatory national register to provide valuable information and help ensure accommodation is safe.
The reforms aim to protect local residents from being pushed out of their communities by lots of short-term lets, which can prevent them from finding affordable housing to buy or rent.
Mr Gove said: “Short-term lets can play an important role in the UK’s flourishing tourism economy, providing great, easily-accessible accommodation in some of the most beautiful parts of our country.
“But in some areas, too many local families and young people feel they are being shut out of the housing market and denied the opportunity to rent or buy in their own community.”
he added: “So, the Government is taking action as part of its long-term plan for housing.
“That means delivering more of the right homes in the right places and giving communities the power to decide.
“This will allow local communities to take back control and strike the right balance between protecting the visitor economy and ensuring local people get the homes they need.”
The measures are part of a long-term plan to prevent a ‘hollowing out’ of communities, address anti-social behaviour and ensure local people can continue to live in the place they call home.
Owners will still be able to let out their own main or sole home for up to 90 nights throughout a year without planning permission.
The government is considering how to apply the register, so it does not impose disproportionate regulation on property owners that let out their home infrequently.
Tourism minister Julia Lopez said: “Short-term lets provide flexibility for homeowners and give tourists more accommodation options than ever before, but this should not prevent local people from being able to buy or rent homes in their area.
“The Government is committed to getting the balance right to ensure both local people and our visitor economy can thrive.”
The proposed planning changes will create a new planning ‘use class’ for short-term lets not used as a sole or main home.
Existing dedicated short-term lets will automatically be reclassified into the new use class and will not require a planning application.
The planning changes and the register will only affect short-term lets, and not hotels, hostels or B&Bs.
Airbnb’s general manager for northern Europe, Amanda Cupples, said: “The introduction of a short-term lets register is good news for everyone.
“Families who Host on Airbnb will benefit from clear rules that support their activity, and local authorities will get access to the information they need to assess and manage housing impacts and keep communities healthy, where necessary.
“We have long led calls for the introduction of a Host register and we look forward to working together to make it a success.”
Previous Article
HMO licence - Consistency of the Public Register?
peter styles
10:24 AM, 19th February 2024, About 2 months ago
i find that when 'locals have control over planning in their area' what generally happens is no planning . most communities seem to hate new commers and do all they can to frustrate planning applications even when there is a proven need in a locality .
Cider Drinker
10:53 AM, 19th February 2024, About 2 months ago
What Gove means to say is that ‘we need more homes for the burgeoning population’.
Chris Rattew
10:54 AM, 19th February 2024, About 2 months ago
If short-term lets are not allowed, properties available for a short-term would have to be left empty, making the shortage worse. About 10% of our lets are less than 6 months. The shortest in the past year has been 32 days. All our short-term lets have been to university students, staff, visitors and their families. Having to leave properties empty for periods would also increase rents, make it take longer to make the energy improvements needed and decrease the amount of income tax paid, albeit replaced by extra council tax.
Andrew Morris
10:55 AM, 19th February 2024, About 2 months ago
I don’t do short-term lets, but the renters reform bill (as I understand it) does away with fixed terms, allowing tenants to give 2 months notice, which they could do on day 1, meaning it’s a 2-month let. This worries me as I can’t cover my letting costs in that time. Short term lets also tend to be more expensive, around 3 times, so taking a normal tenancy and immediately giving notice would make financial sense, even if the tenant wanted to leave after a few weeks.
Reluctant Landlord
10:59 AM, 19th February 2024, About 2 months ago
"The reforms aim to protect local residents from being pushed out of their communities by lots of short-term lets, which can prevent them from finding affordable housing to buy or rent."
so acknowledgment here already that even if ABNB were stopped overnight then the locals still couldn't live here. There is no obligation for any LL to reduce the rent to what is deemed 'affordable' only rent at common market rate.
If the area is already lacking in property and rental higher than income its going to make zero properties 'affordable' anyway.
They fail to realise that ABNB purchasers rarely look for properties that are close to shops, in school catchment areas etc as they are not expected to be occupied permanently.
Who's going to ensure that only locals then rent the properties that are reverted to perm use? What determines a 'local' exactly? Someone working from home in London but relocating fully to Cornwall. They will be a perm local, just as much as the local fisherman's daughter? He can afford the rent - she can't, but they are both 'locals'.
If the locals want local housing for local use then they need to agree who classes as a local first as any rental goes to the best person placed for affordability and there is nothing saying that this IS always going to be a local.
NewYorkie
11:43 AM, 19th February 2024, About 2 months ago
I've never understood why someone providing 'discretionary' accommodation is able to claim significant financial benefits, compared to a landlord who is providing long term rental, and is hammered from all sides.
Remove the financial benefits for short term letting, and see what happens.
GlanACC
11:51 AM, 19th February 2024, About 2 months ago
Gove is not bannig short term lets, I think it might be a good idea. They claim financial benefits more than a landlord gets so they need to take the responsibility
Yvonne Francis
12:49 PM, 19th February 2024, About 2 months ago
Is there nothing Gove wants his hands on? I don't do short term rents unless offcourse one year is short term. But Gove wants to controll everything like the Sixties and Seventies, and I'm sure lots of you know what happened then.
Oliver Rees
13:14 PM, 19th February 2024, About 2 months ago
Are there any dates yet for when this might come into force? Would be interesting to see how existing holidays lets are “grandfathered in” so to speak as I have a few myself.
Anne Nixon
13:34 PM, 19th February 2024, About 2 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Andrew Morris at 19/02/2024 - 10:55
Very true. On a new tenancy every penny of the first months rent goes in fees to the agent, which is bad enough when the tenant only stays 6 months but just imagine tenancies of less than 6 months happening regularly.