MPs are pushing the government to introduce a licensing scheme for short-term lets in England.

Although the sector will soon be covered by a registration scheme, during a debate on short-term lets regulation, MPs said this wouldn’t go far enough to addressing the imbalance between holiday homes and available long-term rental properties in many communities.

Labour’s Markus Campbell-Savours said a registration system was flawed because it only counted the number of short-term lets. “A licensing scheme…is the way forward. That would allow us to build in caps. Whereas the planning system is under-resourced, does not have the funds and is front-loaded because people only pay for planning applications at the beginning, under a licensing scheme, owners would have to pay on an annual basis.”

Criminal

Labour’s Rachel Maskell said through licensing, councils could issue fines or remove licences if conduct was criminal or if antisocial behaviour continued in the home. “Also, a licensing scheme would ensure proper standards in the homes, with environmental controls, health and safety standards and electric and gas checks.”

Surcharge

Liberal Democrat Joshua Reynolds called for local authorities to be able to increase council tax by up to 500% where a home is bought as a second home, and bring in a stamp duty surcharge for overseas residents purchasing properties. He added: “We argued for a six-month moratorium on the marketing of a property as a holiday let if it had been repossessed by the landlord on no-fault grounds. We are calling for a separate planning class for short-term holiday lets, requiring owners to apply for a change of use and allowing local authorities to set their own numbers.”

Housing Minister Rushanara Ali (right) reassured MPs that the government would continue to keep the tax treatment of short-term lets under review. She added: “We cannot let short-term lets undermine the availability of affordable housing for people to buy and rent.”

‍