Government’s holiday let crackdown ‘not enough’, warns renters’ group

A renters’ group has criticised the government’s plans to curb the growth of short term lets, saying they are insufficient and could backfire.

The Housing Secretary Michael Gove announced yesterday (Monday) that future short term lets would need planning permission.

He also said that a national register would be set up to ensure safety and collect data.

Mr Gove confirmed that homeowners could still let out their main or sole home for up to 90 nights a year.

‘Hollowing out’ communities and driving up rents’

The measures are aimed at tackling the problem of short term lets, which the government said are ‘hollowing out’ communities and driving up rents.

According to research by Generation Rent, 29 long-term homes a day are lost to holiday lets, and over 35,000 homes have been converted to short term lets since 2019.

However, the government is also proposing to grant automatic permission to existing short term lets to continue operating, which Generation Rent said would undermine the effectiveness of the new rules.

‘Families are being driven out of their communities’

Generation Rent’s chief executive, Ben Twomey, said: “Families are being driven out of their communities by the disastrous loss of homes into holiday lets, with over 35,000 privately rented homes lost to Airbnb-style short term lets since 2019.

“Generation Rent has been calling for government action on this issue to keep renters in our communities and we are pleased that a registration scheme will finally be introduced to monitor the use of these properties.”

He added: “However, there is significant doubt as to whether changes to the planning system would be enforceable and not enough is being done to reverse recent trends.

“Proposals to allow existing short term lets to automatically gain permission to continue risks shutting the stable door once the horse has bolted.”

Uneconomic to bring homes back into long-term tenancies

Mr Twomey also warns that if the planning system is the only way to reverse recent property conversions, then it would be uneconomic to bring homes back into long-term tenancies.

He adds that the government’s move could trigger a rush of more holiday let registrations before the changes come into effect.

Mr Twomey said: “The government must go further and introduce local holiday let licensing schemes, which could give councils proper oversight of how many homes in their area can be let out as short term lets based on local need.

“This should include local caps on the number of holiday lets that can operate, along with tax changes that take mortgage interest relief away from holiday lets.”

He added: “If the government doesn’t give local councils the powers they need to protect the supply of rented homes, then people will continue to be denied somewhere they can afford in the place they call home.”