Contribution
My Lords, I apologise for leading two groups of amendments in a row.
Amendment 185, in my name and the names of the noble Lords, Lord Truscott and Lord Young of Cookham and the noble Baroness, Lady Thornhill, seeks to add a new clause to the Bill that would require planning consent before assured or shorthold tenancies can be converted into short-term lettings. The definition of “short-term letting” is defined in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023. These lettings are often referred to as “Airbnb lets”, although several companies handle them.
I note that the amendment would not affect the letting of spare rooms to supplement the family income or temporary use of an owner-occupier’s home, when, for example, they are away on holiday. Instead, the amendment would cover the switching of privately rented properties from ordinary, longer-term lettings for those living and working locally to short-term lets for visitors. This phenomenon is having a serious impact on housing shortages in a number of tourist hotspots. In some places, the loss of PRS lettings has reached critical proportions, from seaside towns to national parks and historic cities. Appallingly, there are many examples of landlords serving notices to quit—thereby evicting tenants—so that long-established renters can be replaced with higher-paying lettings to tourists.
According to AirDNA, which tracks the lettings by Airbnb and similar companies, York saw an increase of nearly 30% in short-term lets in the city between August 2021 and August 2023. York now has more than 2,000 such lets. In Coniston, in the Lake District, 50% of homes are not lived in full-time. In the picturesque town of Salcombe, Devon, it is understood that around 40% of the accommodation now comprises second homes or short-term lettings; I commend the relevant section in the Devon Housing Commission report on that.
The switching phenomenon also has a particular relevance in London: a survey by the property consultants, Savills, found 117,000 homes listed for short-term letting on the Airbnb and Vrbo websites last year in just 12 London boroughs. The survey found that over half were let for more than the 90 days permitted in London and, in the central London boroughs, 40% of the private rented sector was let on a short-term basis. In many other European and American cities, action is being taken to address this problem. Indeed, Wales and Scotland have legislated to reduce the impact of losing homes for locals to rent.
In England, the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 has provided the basis for a start to be made. The Act requires the Secretary of State to introduce mandatory registration for short-term lets. This measure would provide local authorities with an evidence base on which to decide whether the level of short-term lettings in their area should be restricted. Regulations under the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act would prohibit the use of short-term lets of non-registered properties. Introducing registration would be a good starting point but, so far, no action has been taken.
In February 2024, Michael Gove, then Secretary of State, announced that the Government would be taking this issue to the next stage, using the planning system to control switchovers to short-term lets where the local planning authority deemed this necessary. To inform the details of this new regime, a government consultation considered the introduction of a new use class for planning purposes, enabling local authorities to refuse permission for a change of use from a long-term to a short-term letting. This consultation exercise produced near-unanimous agreement that such action would be an invaluable mechanism to discourage further expansion of the so-called Airbnb sector in specific places. The Government of the day pledged to take this forward at pace. Sadly, no action followed.
The previous Government reformed the tax regime for furnished holiday lets, and this has now come into force. The change removes a strong incentive for flipping properties from long-term to short-term letting, but the Renters’ Rights Bill may mean that more landlords are now being tempted to flip their properties, making the introduction of a new use class, which would enable councils to intervene, the more urgent. Amendment 185 is intended to provide the opportunity for the Government to progress the action needed to amend planning law by creating a new use class for short-term lettings, empowering each local authority to decide whether it is in the interests of their community to permit changes of use from long-term to short-term lets. The Minister for Housing and Planning in the other place, Matthew Pennycook, has demonstrated an appreciation of this issue and has promised to take further action—but when?
If the Minister is not able to accept this amendment, it would be helpful if she could update the Committee on the timetable for introducing first, the short-term lettings registration scheme and, secondly, the legislation to create a new use class for short-term lets. Action is overdue. I beg to move.