Licensing for Airbnbs and similar short lets should be targeted in priority areas only and not the subject of blanket rules.
That’s the view of Propertymark, the letting agents’ trade body, which has responded to an official consultation by the Welsh Government on introducing a statutory licensing scheme for all visitor accommodation.
In July last year the Welsh Government made an in-principle plan to introduce a statutory licensing system, including short-term holiday lets. The proposal is to make it a requirement for providers to obtain a licence to operate, which the government claims would help raise standards across the industry, ensure visitor safety and provide a level playing field for all operators.
In its formal response to the consultation Propertymark says it acknowledges the impact of high levels of second homes and holiday lets on overall housing stock, as well as its positive impact on the economy.
It adds: “However, any proposals must be fair and recognise the role that all visitor accommodation including holiday lets plays in supporting local economies and jobs. We disagreed that the Welsh Government should implement a national licensing scheme at this stage and recommended that local authorities could implement local licensing and registration schemes at their discretion.
“At the very least, this local proposal should act as a pilot before a national scheme is implemented. Holiday lets are only an issue in some local authority areas with high levels of tourism. It is right and proper to regulate this accommodation in these areas where they are reducing the supply of homes.”
The consultation proposed that inspections are carried out on a 1:50 ratio but Propertymark concluded that this showed the Welsh Government simply wouldn’t have the resources to police inspections.
“Equally, we recommended that one-off events should be exempt due to the lack of ability to carry out enforcement and that the cost of licences should depend on the number of visitors the accommodation serves to level the playing field between landlords letting out a holiday home and large multi-national hotels.”
The agents’ trade body has also called for a definitive definition of ‘visitor accommodation’ to ensure that the private rented sector does not get drawn into the legislation.
“We also warned that a few private residential landlords let their properties on a short-term basis to ensure they do not become void. Therefore, any work on licensing of visitor accommodation should work in tandem with the Rent Smart Wales licensing regime for residential lettings and landlords should not require an additional license if they are already holders of a Rent Smart Wales Licence” adds Propertymark.
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There are several issues around this. It’s as much the very strict and very expensive planning process that prevents any significant new build or conversions in places like the National Parks preventing any new housing that is as much the problem if not the bigger issue. Very successful businesses that are the life blood of tourist areas are having to close due to staff shortages. There seems to be what appears to be a lot of almost jealousy around having successful holiday accommodation businesses in the areas people want to visit. It’s not the tax paying providers that need watching - it’s the so called second home owners. They can stay in their second home for a significant part of the year AND let it out to visitors without paying any council tax OR business rates if they stay under the overly generous threshold. Who’s paying for their share if the highways/police / refuse collection etc?? Holiday accommodation (not B&B ) should be JUST that - you either live there - or don’t and you shouldn’t be able to have it both ways. It’s a simple as that. I have a very small but successful AirB&B cottage in a National Park hotspot which is my only income after a lifetime of working hard and then having my state pension delayed by six years. This very popular town is dying a death because the National Park Planning policy prevents any very much needed new build housing (especially social affordable accommodation) for working people to service the very healthy tourist industry . It’s a double edged sword . We need tourism to keep these tourist areas living and breathing (our local school
Numbers have dropped to a very concerning level ) but we also need more homes for the people who service the tourism industry - or much better transport links to the more remote areas . At the moment it’s not working the way it is.
There would have been no need for anyone calling for licensing of Airbnb if you hadn’t licensed the Public Private Rented Sector causing Landlords to exit and many others switch to AirBnB.
The consequences of one Action caused the other you are good at this, the platform site be delighted with you for making their Business hugely successful at our expense.
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