Westminster’s Debate on the Regulation of Short-Term Rentals

The need for regulation of short-term rentals in the UK has long been over due. B&B’s and hostels have strict safety regulations in place, so it’s time for short-term lets to follow suit. Last week Westminster Hall held a debate about the regulation of short-term rentals in the UK. We watched the hour and a half debate so you don’t have to, and complied the most important parts of it, into this blog post.

The debate was held on Thursday 12th September and led by Rachel Blake, MP for the Cities of London and Westminster. The previous Conservative government announced in February that they planned to introduce law reforms aimed at giving local councils in England the authority to require short-term lets in their areas to go through a planning process. This hoped to prevent communities from being “hollowed out”.

The new Labour government will abolish the Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL) tax regime starting in April next year, as previously announced by the Conservative government. This will eliminate the tax benefits currently enjoyed by landlords offering short-term holiday lets, levelling the playing field with those who rent out standard residential properties.

Blake opened the debate by stating that 1 in 85 homes in London were available for short-term rent, and that currently there are 13,000 short-term lets that are currently vacant in her constituency. This worrying statistic already showcases the need for regulations as well as the problem with housing in the UK.

She proposed the use of a registration system that would create unique registration numbers for each property and would be logged by the local council. There would be a registration fee that the owner of the short-term rental would need to pay for, and they would also need to supply a copy of a gas safety certificate. The council would require all properties to list one point of contact, and they would be allowed to issue fines for things such as fly-tipping.

All of the MPs in the room agreed for the need to regulate short-term rentals, however several argued against Blake’s idea of a registration scheme, stating that it would only really show the government how many short-term rentals are available. Instead, Rachael Maskell, MP for York Central, proposed a licensing scheme.

In 2022 Maskell brought forward a bill for Short-term and Holiday-let Accommodation, however it never moved further than it’s first reading. In this bill, and in last weeks debate, she proposes a licensing scheme which would charge owners of short-term rentals a fee. This would then grant them a license to rent out their short-term let, however the license would need to be renewed every three years.

She also states the bill would give local authorities the power to issue fines for criminal behaviour, fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour from tenants. One of the many issues that short-term lets create is a rise in parties and noise pollution. MPs spoke about constituents who had written to them on this topic, with one saying they had no neighbours anymore, and that parties every weekend keep them up at night and caused an overflow of rubbish on the streets.

Maskell introduced the idea of having the owners of short-term lets vocalise how many guests can stay in the property, so that the number never exceeds it. Councils would also be able to issue fines for this if owners breach this number. She also agreed that there should only be one point of contact, and that owners would have to provide necessary safety features, such as a gas safety certificate, in order to comply with the bill.

Maskell, as well as other MPs also stated that there needs to be a clear distinction between short-term rentals, and a single room in their own property. Many MPs from rural and costal towns vocalised their views how short-term rentals bring tourism into their constituencies. Lizzie Collinge, MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, stated that short-term rentals play a vital part in supporting local businesses, but that rapid growth has caused harm. Many families have been forced to move out of areas due to landlords turning their properties from privately rented accommodation, to short-term lets.

Rushanara Ali, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Building Safety and Homelessness, responded on behalf of the government by stating that the debate had highlighted broader issues surrounding housing availability and affordability. Ali continued by saying that the government needed to take stock of the existing policies and proposals before deciding on how to move forward. This would be aided by data provided by the introduction of the registration system.

The debate came to a close as Rachel Blake MP circled back to her proposal of a registration scheme, and said that the licensing scheme would need more thought. All in all, all of the MPs present agreed that regulations need to be put in place for short-term rentals. You can watch the full debate here, or read the transcript here.