Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of short-term letting websites on recent trends in private rental prices in Cities of London and Westminster constituency.

Whilst short-term lets can benefit local economies, the government appreciate that excessive concentrations in some areas of the country can impact the availability and affordability of homes both to rent and buy. We have committed to introducing a registration scheme for short-term lets and removing the furnished holiday let rules to ensure all income from property will be treated the same for tax purposes. We also recognise that more needs to be done and are considering what additional powers we might give local authorities to enable them to respond to the pressures created by short-term lets.