Rachael Maskell’s Short Term Holiday Let’s Private Members Bill will have it’s second reading in Parliament today (Friday).
The MP for York Central’s Bill would give Council’s new powers to require Holiday Let owners to secure a license before trading. This would allow Councils to fine or remove licenses in the event of repeated anti-social behaviour or criminality. The licenses would also bring the currently unregulated Short-Term Holiday Let industry in line with hotels and B&B by requiring owners to undertake regular health, safety and energy checks.
Crucially, the Bill would give Local Authorities new powers to limit or stop new licenses being granted in areas of high local housing pressure, to help prevent the current practice of local renters being forced out of their communities to make way for holiday-makers.
In her speech, the MP will slam the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ new proposals for another consultation on holiday lets that will consider a light-touch registration scheme and potential new use class for Short-Term Holiday Let’s, as “far too little, much much too late” and as “almost exactly what Airbnb ordered”.
She urges MPs to support her Bill tomorrow that will deliver a “fairbnb” that rewards responsible owners, protects local homes and will put a stop to anti-social behaviour that is currently blighting many communities. New research has shown that 29 new holiday lets in England are established every day, and her Bill will end this trend.
Rachael Maskell MP said;
“In many areas across the country, the expansion of holiday lets is completely out of control, local people are being forced out of their homes and once healthy communities are being ruined.
“Six months ago, the Government launched a consultation on what to do about Holiday Lets. 4,000 responses later, what do we get? Another 7-month consultation.
“Since I first raised the issue with Ministers, an estimated 15,515 homes have been lost to holiday lets. By the time the Government are done with this new consultation we stand to lose over 6,500 more.
“Worse still this new consultation sets out to fail. It is on course to give the industry with exactly what it wants, as they know it will do nothing to expand its huge expansion. The Government may think it can hoodwink MPs into accepting this, but communities are suffering and people will not be fooled.”
“In contrast, with the Government’s proposals, my Bill will allow local communities to take back control ensuring there are places for local people to live, and that where there are repeated problems or criminality swift and decisive action can be taken. My Bill also gives holiday makers assurances that the accommodation they are renting is safe and not feeding our housing crisis. It also brings England into closer alignment with Scotland where licensing legislation has come into effect.”
About the legislation
Rachael Maskell’s Short-Term Holiday Let Licensing scheme will get its second reading in Parliament on December 9th.
This week, Secretary of State Michael Gove amended his Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill (LURB) to allow for a Government consultation on introducing a holiday let registration scheme. Rachael has tabled a New Clause 107 to the LURB that mirrors her Private Members Bill in calling for short-term let licensing. Rachael’s New Clause will be considered during the LURB second reading next week, and this proposal is likely to progress for consideration by the House of Lords in the New Year.
About the numbers
Examining Council Tax Statistics from the DLUHC and Valuation Office Stats, Generation Rent estimated that Between 2021 and 2022, the number of second homes in England increased by 3,556, to 256,913. The number of holiday lets increased by 7,153, to 73,624. This is a total of 10,709 homes – equivalent to 29 per day.
Further information
Rachael’s video about the Bill 💙Rachael Maskell MP (@RachaelMaskell) / Twitter