National housing charity Threshold has welcomed the Government’s decision to curb short-term letting of non-principal private residences in Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs).
The plans mean that from 1 September next, online platforms will not be able to advertise properties in RPZs that do not have the requisite planning permission.
But the charity cautioned that this must be fully enforced and better regulated than they have been under 2019 legislation to address the problem.
Threshold chief executive John Mark McCafferty also noted that this is a temporary six-month measure until the Government devise a longer-term plan.
“We welcome this legislation, but it must be enforced, and behaviour needs to change, in order for more short-let properties to return to the longer-term rental market,” he said.
He said that the 2019 legislation on short terms lets hasn’t worked as very few hosts sought or received planning permission.
Short-lets still hugely outnumber the availability of long-term rentals for families and individuals.
“It is an important development that the rental platforms are now covered by the new legislation – they will not be able to advertise properties in RPZs which do not have the required planning permission,” said Mr McCafferty.
“We still have concerns for areas outside of RPZs where short-term lets might distort the local housing market in a significant way, as they are doing in some places right now.
“While this legislation is not a silver bullet for the supply of homes in the private rented sector, it will help in returning homes back to longer term rental, which is critical right now.”
