Second homeowners could require planning permission if they want to use their property as a holiday let in a tourist hotspot in England, under new government proposals intended to prioritise “desperate” local families looking for a home.
A consultation has been launched on the plan, along with the suggestion of a registration scheme for holiday lets to gather data and increase understanding of the impact of short-term accommodation on communities.
Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, said the move would help support local people in areas where high numbers of holiday lets are preventing them from finding affordable housing.
But his predecessor in the role, Tory MP Simon Clarke, criticised the plan, calling it “anti-business” and saying the priority for government should be building more homes.
Politics live:
Growth flatlining – but chancellor says economy ‘brighter than expected’
The proposals – announced three weeks before the local elections – suggest creating a new planning use class for short-term lets that are not used as a sole or main home, though local councils would be able to decide whether to introduce the measure or not.
The consultation will also consider whether homeowners could let out their properties for a specific number of nights in a year before the requirement for planning permission kicks in.
The rules could be introduced as part of the government’s Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill that is currently making its way through parliament – depending on the consultation’s outcome – and would only apply to second homes in England.
Mr Gove said: “Tourism brings many benefits to our economy but in too many communities we have seen local people pushed out of cherished towns, cities and villages by huge numbers of short-term lets.
“I’m determined that we ensure that more people have access to local homes at affordable prices, and that we prioritise families desperate to rent or buy a home of their own close to where they work.”
Mr Clarke attacked the move on Twitter, saying: “So many of our interventions in the housing market, from anti-business ones like this to [very] costly demand-side subsidies like Help to Buy, stem from our failure to build enough homes, and to make the argument to the public about why this matters.”
But another Tory MP Kevin Foster, who represents the Devon constituency of Torbay, insisted the plan was necessary.
“In a coastal location like Torbay, which is an area highly reliant on tourism, a level of these lets does provide choice and options for tourists,” he tweeted. “Yet potentially allowing the majority of a street or area to become a holiday park does not.
“I agree we need to create more homes for families, but this change is needed for reasons beyond just housing supply overall.”
Read more politics news:
UK economy flatlines
Labour attacks Tory tax plans
Matt Hancock among MPs facing probe
Asked if she would support the plan, Labour’s Angela Rayner said there were bigger issues in the wider housing market causing problems for those looking to own their own homes.
She told Sky News: “I think we’ve got to solve the situation that we currently face in this country where many people can’t get on the housing ladder and actually [the high rents] that are stopping rental accommodation now.
“Most people are now worried that they won’t even be able to afford to get a mortgage because mortgages have increased because of the disastrous budget that Liz Truss and the Conservatives put to the country recently.”
Ms Rayner said a Labour government would create more homes, including social homes, and give first-time buyers “first dibs” on newly built properties to help them onto the ladder.
The Labour-run Welsh government has already introduced a series of measures to make housing more affordable for people to rent or buy in their local areas.
It includes allowing councils to charge a premium of up to 300% on second-home council tax bills.