Letting flats on airbnb has triggered the council with threats!

Hello, having just returned from a relaxing holiday, I came home to open the post and find a filthy letter from the council about a property I own, a block of flats in Brighton (licensed HMO). I own this building outright, no mortgage or leases and it comprises 9 flats in total of which I have recently (since last September) started to let two of the studios out on Booking.com and Airbnb. This is the letter:

I’m writing to you as the council has received complaints that some of the rooms at an address in Brighton are being rented out as short-term holiday accommodation.

There is no planning permission in place for holiday accommodation. To establish certain facts about this breach of planning control, I have enclosed a Planning Contravention Notice containing a number of questions, which you are required to answer fully, to the best of your knowledge.

Please note it is a criminal offence not to respond to this Planning Contravention Notice within 21 days of the date you receive it, and it is also a criminal offence to provide false information within your response to this Notice. You are welcome to submit additional evidence that you may have to support your responses, including photos.

Upon receipt of the completed Planning Contravention Notice, I will review the responses provided and write to you again to update you on how this investigation is likely to be progressed.

To prevent further enforcement action if you cease this unauthorised use, then no further enforcement action will be taken.

Thank you for your co-operation in this matter.

Any advice on this? I am appalled and have told them so. Their letter comes with a threat of a £5,000 fine and/or 2 years imprisonment!

I am truly disgusted by what our councils are doing to us when we are bringing revenue into the towns and they are public servants, ie ‘they serve us’. We are being made to feel like criminals!

Thanks,

Karen