Labour’s shadow housing secretary promises to wage war on holiday let landlords

Labour has vowed to introduce licensing for holiday lets to preserve the spirit of coastal and rural communities.

Shadow levelling up secretary Lisa Nandy says this would allow areas to “to reap the rewards of thriving tourism”, while guarding against ghost towns at the end of the holiday season when locals are priced out of their own neighbourhoods just for homes to stand empty for months.

“By trusting the community, working with the community, we can find the right balance to bring growth and jobs and income, but protect the spirit and the fabric of a community that matter so much,” she says.

Community approach

In her speech, Nandy also set out plans for a strengthened community right-to-buy initiative to enable local people to take control of assets such as live music venues and football clubs that come up for sale or fall into disrepair. They would be given first refusal on assets of community value, including the right to buy them without competition.

Communities would also have the right to force a sale of land or buildings that have fallen into a state of significant disrepair and would get 12 months to raise finance – double the current allowance.

Short lets

Last month, the government announced a new study to investigate how short-term holiday lets impact housing supply across cities and coastal resorts in England. Proposals include checks on premises to ensure rules on health and safety, noise and anti-social behaviour are obeyed and a self-certification scheme for hosts.

In Scotland, all short-lets will need a licence by July 2024, while Wales plans to introduce a statutory licensing scheme for all visitor accommodation, including short-term holiday lets, to help raise standards across the tourism industry.