Housing Secretary Michael Gove’s proposals to restrict Airbnb-style short lets do not go far enough, a group of activists has said.

Yesterday Gove announced that councils will be given greater power to control short-term lets by making them subject to the planning process.

Meanwhile, a new mandatory national register will give local authorities the information they need about short-term lets in their area, and the government suggests this “will help councils understand the extent of short-term lets in their area, the effects on their communities, and underpin compliance with key health and safety regulations.”

Existing homeowners will still be able to let out their own main or sole home without planning consent but only for up to 90 nights throughout a year.

Generation Rent, led by chief executive Ben Twomey, says all this doesn’t go far enough.

He claims over 35,000 homes have become holiday homes or short term lets since 2019 and Twomey is complaining that these will be allowed to continue – and he claims they have been driving up rents and “forcing people out of their communities.”

In a lengthy statement Twomey says: “Families are being driven out of their communities by the disastrous loss of homes into holiday lets, with over 35,000 privately rented homes lost to Airbnb-style short term lets since 2019. 

“Generation Rent has been calling for government action on this issue to keep renters in our communities and we are pleased that a registration scheme will finally be introduced to monitor the use of these properties.

“However, there is significant doubt as to whether changes to the planning system would be enforceable and not enough is being done to reverse recent trends. 

“Proposals to allow existing short term lets to automatically gain permission to continue risks shutting the stable door once the horse has bolted. 

“Meanwhile, if the planning system is the only way to reverse recent conversions, then it could be uneconomic to bring homes back into long-term tenancies or even trigger a rush of further holiday let registrations before government changes come into effect.

“The government must go further and introduce local holiday let licensing schemes, which could give councils proper oversight of how many homes in their area can be let out as short term lets based on local need. This should include local caps on the number of holiday lets that can operate, along with tax changes that take mortgage interest relief away from holiday lets. 

“If the government doesn’t give local councils the powers they need to protect the supply of rented homes, then people will continue to be denied somewhere they can afford in the place they call home.”