Short-term Lets: Regulation
1/23. What plans her Department has for the regulation of short-term lets.
We aim to get up a statutory registration system for short-term lets very soon, not least because we want to make sure that local authorities have all the data that they need to assess local accommodation needs, and so that there is a level playing field for different kinds of accommodation.
I thank the Minister for his answer. My constituents in Kensington and Bayswater regularly raise this issue with me, and are looking forward to the registration scheme, not least so that we can better enforce the 90-day rule in London. Does the Minister have any further information on when that scheme will come online? Has he considered giving councils licensing powers, perhaps through the devolution Bill, so that where a high concentration of short-term lets is taking properties out of the private rented sector, we can consider the numbers?
My hon. Friend asks two questions. The first is about the timing. We have already done the initial phase. I hope that we will be able to make an announcement fairly soon about the technical elements, which we hope to get up and running this year. The second point is important: what is the final purpose of this registration scheme? We are in discussions with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, because we want to make sure that the scheme works and delivers what people want, which is a really strong local visitor economy, but we do not want to undermine local housing strategies.
Holiday lets play an important part in the tourism economy; 20 million people visit the lakes every year, and they need somewhere to stay. Having said that, in the last five years especially, we have seen a gobbling-up of the long-term private rented sector and local people forced out by a massive growth in short-term lets. Will the Minister speak more with the Minister for Housing and Planning about how planning law can be changed, so that councils and national parks can put a limit on the number of short-term lets in the community, and take action on second homes, too?
I agree with every single thing the hon. Member said, and I will do as he urges.