The government is considering making home owners apply for planning consent if they wish to use a property for holiday lets.
The Times says this is one idea under consideration to help limit the spread of holiday lets in areas where it is thought there are too few affordable properties to buy or let for local people and key workers.
Owners would be obliged to submit a ‘change of use’ planning application with local planning authorities having the right to agree or disagree to the change. A similar proposal is believed to be under consideration by the Welsh Government.
Housing Secretary Michael Gove is floating the possibility with an estimated 60 Conservative MPs who are threatening to inflict a string of Commons defeats on the government that would severely restrict housebuilding in England.
The proposal - which is merely under discussion between Tory MPs at this stage - has already been dismissed by the Generation Rent group of activists.
Dan Wilson Craw, the deputy director of the group, has tweeted extensively about the proposal, saying: “Planning permission would presumably be retrospective, meaning that the 17,000 holiday lets registered for business rates since 2020 will stay in the tourist sector.
“ … Landlords in Cornwall, the Lakes etc can make the same income they get from a tenant in a year in just two months from tourists. That means any property with planning permission for holiday letting will be worth loads more.
“ … We need to recognise that the existing laissez-faire treatment of holiday lets would mean most new-builds would continue to be snapped up for tourists.
“…Rather than planning permission we should register landlords, whether they let their property to tourists or tenants - and give councils the power to cap the number of licences available to operate holiday lets. Licences would expire, making residential use the default setting.
“That would remove the disproportionate benefit that (more permanent) planning permission would confer on holiday lets.”
You can see The Times story here, but for many Landlord Today readers it may be behind a paywall.
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If it’s not retrospective then I would be changing right now !! Once this comes in it’s a game of poker if you win or not. If I lived in a tourist area I would have done this years ago.
Very good another process more administrative, time consuming more red tape and another Fee,
Wanting to make sure that we lose control of our properties, and there is no option for us to have fixed term lets.
Don’t forget the little fact that its Mr Michael Gove’s baby THE WHITE PAPER and the removal of Section 21, which is the root cause of the problem and why people switched to AirBnB putting pressure on regular letting’s causing more Homelessness . Now he wants another law because of the first one he proposed, if something is stupid enough he we do it.
Exactly - if you create legislation which is totally unacceptable to most landlords, then they will either sell or seek to circumvent it.
Already here in Scotland for flats. I submitted my application and withdrew it when it was rejected for simply having the erong scale of location map. The process is typically local government lacking in flexibility and common sense. I will reapply when I have a week off to measure internal walls, research local parking regulations and identify the right font for the fire risk assessment... It's a totally unsupported application process for which you have to pay £600 to do their job, on top of the short term let licencing... I agree we need safe and regulatory controls but as usual ill thought through, over bureaucratic anti landlord.
I own both rental and holiday lets , having stopped buying any more rental properties due to the governments anti-landlord attitude. Generation Rent and their demands are only pushing landlords out of the market - I was intending to start selling my rental portfolio one property per year as even though I have excellent tenants who have been with me for over ten years, I have had enough. I will now be able to sell them all in one go as once the new Capital Gains Tax rules come in there will be no need to wait. Do these people realise what they are doing to the rental market? There will not be any properties to rent in a minute. Once I put my properties on the market, it won’t be renters who will buy them, they can’t afford it - where are they going to go? The poor standards of rental properties are not private landlords - why would they let their investment lose value? But we are the ones being blamed and having to jump through hoops. I will be doing the same with my holiday let’s. It is not ‘easy money’ they take a lot of upkeep and are far more hands on - again it won’t be renters who will benefit as they won’t be able to afford to buy them and I certainly wouldn’t rent them out.
Hi Rosanne, I agree completely with all your points. Typical government short sightedness and not fully understanding the sector they are trying to legislate for! However my future plans differ from yours as I'm in the process of buying up landlord portfolios for my business. Let me know if this could be of interest to you
Hat's off to you Martyn you're a brave man I wish you well, mine aren't for sale yet, but they might be a little further down the road
Exactly. I intend to sell up and unfortunately my tenants will have to rely on family or social housing.
Perhaps Gove should defect to Labour,he would be more at home there
I’d prefer China! He’d fit right in and be as far away from us as possible.
Or perhaps Rwanda
He has no business being in the Conservatives with his communist policies.
Rosanne, you are right they do what us out but now they have taken their foot off the pedal they want us to stay a little bit longer now blocking us from exit, they got the timing wrong the Big Boys B2R are not ready yet, look around you thousands of High Rise not finished yet in London, Manchester & Liverpool etc, give it a couple of years and you’ll to getting an incentive to get out, they’ll want your Tenants for themselves, now you won’t hear from me again today I have things to do.
All this will do is add red tape and encourage nimbyism. I have recently bought a house from an HA right in a. hotspot of a thriving seaside town. What I have paid to the HA will build 2 more houses nearby in a slightly less desirable location for holiday lets. The sale of this house was delayed for 2 years because one local complained to the council about losing an “affordable” home. They don’t see the bigger picture, the businesses in the town would not be there without the tourist industry. I remember the town 30 years ago when it was like a ghost town, I would far rather have the town as it is now!
I am strongly opposed to the current uncontrolled expansion of holiday lets as it brings misery to long term residents when unsuitably located properties are used in this way. Two of my tenants have been subjected to Airbnb flats springing up in their buildings. Having groups of drunk stag party attendees crashing around at stupid o'clock is no fun when you need to go to work in the morning. Fortunately for my tenants the flats are leasehold and the lease prohibits holiday lets so in both cases it was ended fairly quickly by the freeholder and management company.
I'm not sure Planning Permission is the right tool. Holiday homes aren't quite as clearcut as BTL.
There are the ones that are second homes purely for personal use.
Some are personal use plus family and friends.
Mainly personal use with a bit of commercial holiday letting.
A bit of personal use with a lot of commercial letting.
Totally commercial letting.
Purpose built as a holiday home or a standard residential property.
In a holiday area or elsewhere.
Some already have or are capable of getting EPC C, others aren't.
Some of the more quirky ones are great for holidays but would be completely impractical as long term homes.
At what point on the scale would it require PP and at what point is it simply the politics of envy?
The statement “ … Landlords in Cornwall, the Lakes etc can make the same income they get from a tenant in a year in just two months from tourists."
It doesn't compare like with like and has completely failed to acknowledge the cost of furnishing the holiday let and paying for cleaners and booking agent fees. Other than in absolutely top locations is the amount of profit (calculated in the traditional sense) much different? Is Section 24 really the crux of the matter? How many landlords would persist with holiday lets if Section 24 was abolished on standard BTL and we were returned to the same tax regime as EVERY other business in the UK?
Jo your section 24 is at the heart of the matter. I have Air B&B flats that used to be BTL. I make more money it’s true and still would if they implemented S24 for holiday let’s too. But as you say it’s much more work and it’s certainly no “holiday” for an operator. Remove S24 and I’d go back to BTL, earn less money but have a much easier life.
Martin Heelbeck, how can I message you privately? What areas are you buying in? Do you have contact details, website or something? Thanks Geraldine
He’ll do whatever he’s told by his handlers
None of the politicians have any worthwhile experience in anything practical
One minute it’s minister for this then that , may as well be minister for total and utter twaddle
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