Holiday lets to need planning approval under government clampdown
Housing secretary says he wants to stop short-term lets pricing local people out of the housing market in tourist hotspots.
Holiday lets may require planning approval under new rules being considered by the Government.
Ministers say they want to curb high numbers of lettings pricing local people out of the market in tourist hotspots.
A consultation from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities proposes introducing planning permission for an existing home to start to be used as a short term let.
It will also consider whether to give owners flexibility to let out their home for up to a specified number of nights in a calendar year without the need for planning permission.
Michael Gove, secretary of state for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, says: “Tourism brings many benefits to our economy, but in too many communities we have seen local people pushed out of cherished towns, cities and villages by huge numbers of short-term lets.
“I’m determined that we ensure that more people have access to local homes at affordable prices, and that we prioritise families desperate to rent or buy a home of their own close to where they work.”
Registration
The new proposals come as the Department for Culture, Media and Sport also launches a separate consultation on a new registration scheme for short-term lets.
The DCMS consultation follows a call for evidence held earlier in the year, which indicates broad support for a registration scheme.
Both of these measures are focussed on short term lets, so the planning changes and the register will not impact on hotels, hostels or B&Bs.
The register of short term lets is being introduced through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, which is currently going through Parliament.
Subject to the outcome of the consultation, the planning changes would be introduced through secondary legislation later in the year and would apply in England only.
Read more: ‘Regulation coming for the short-term accommodation market as Government launches review’
Read more: ‘Holiday lets boom prompts call for regulation from agents’
