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Short-term and Holiday-let Accommodation (Licensing) Bill

09 December 2022

Proposing MP
Rachael Maskell Lab Co-op
York Central
Type
Bill Debate

At a Glance

Issue Summary

The statement addresses the issue of short-term holiday let accommodation impacting housing availability and community stability, proposing legislative changes to regulate these accommodations. The statement discusses the impact of short-term holiday lets on housing availability, community well-being, local economies, and public services. Rachael Maskell discusses the challenges of the private rented sector and the need for tighter regulation of short-term lets.

Action Requested

Maskell calls for support for her Bill which would license rather than merely register short-term holiday lets, enabling local authorities to control zones, raise penalties, and reverse properties back to residential use. She criticizes the government's plan for registration as insufficient to protect residents and prevent housing crises.

Key Facts

  • Rural, coastal, and urban communities are experiencing an extraction of wealth through short-term holiday lets.
  • A new use class consultation by the Government is planned up to the summer.
  • The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2020 introduced a new use class affecting 330,000 properties.
  • In April 2016, only 76,000 properties were listed on Airbnb; this has risen by 14% in the last year.
  • Every day, 29 more properties flip from residential to short-term holiday lets.
  • Short-term holiday lets are causing housing shortages in areas like York.
  • Local authorities are losing millions of pounds due to exemptions for small businesses.
  • Unregulated short-term lets impact the hospitality sector, NHS, and social care recruitment negatively.
  • Pop-up brothels and drug dealing have been linked to unregulated short-term lets.
  • Landlords convert 6,525 properties into short-term holiday lets over a period.
  • The Government plans to introduce a registration scheme through an amendment to the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill.
  • A call for evidence on short-term lets ran from June 29 to September 21.
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