Abuse of short-term letting
The petition of residents of the constituency of Cities of London and Westminster,
Declares that local authorities should be granted stronger powers to deal with rogue landlords who abuse the short-term lets 90 Day Rule in London.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to introduce an amendment to the 2015 Deregulation Act to allow for a licensing regime in order to practically enforce the 90 Day Rule.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Nickie Aiken, Official Report, 28 March 2022; Vol. 711, c. 675.]
[P002725]
Observations from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Nigel Huddleston):
The Government support the sharing economy and the economic benefits that it can bring. It not only boosts the tourism sector by providing competitively priced accommodation for visitors, it also allows households with underused accommodation to supplement their income.
The Government recognise, however, that the growth of the sharing economy has led to concerns about possible negative impacts of short-term lets on some communities. The Government also want to ensure that England continues to provide a safe and competitive guest accommodation offer.
In the tourism recovery plan published in June 2021, the Government committed to consulting on the introduction of a tourist accommodation registration scheme in England. However, the Government consider that it is necessary to initially build a robust evidence base about this sector before exploring what possible, proportionate policy responses might be.
The Government therefore intend to publish a call for evidence on short-term tourist accommodation in the near future.