CIH responds to two government consultations short term lets

Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) has responded to two government consultations on options to manage the steep rise in short term lets in certain locations.

The first consultation is from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities and considers a new planning use class for short term lets and associated permitted development rights.  The second consultation from the Department for Culture, Media and Sports considers a registration scheme as a measure to control the impact of short term lets on communities. 

Hannah Keilloh, CIH policy and practice planning lead commented on our consultation submissions:

"The challenges created by the steep rise in short term and visitor accommodation lettings over recent years is an important topic for CIH and many of our members.  A high concentration of short term lets (STL) and particularly the conversion of residential property previously rented out in the private rented market into STLs, is dramatically reducing choice for local residents and pushing up prices. STLs are often unevenly distributed in the areas where they are concentrated - when this is coupled with the chronic and long term under supply of social housing the situation is disastrous for many individuals and communities.

"We believe that STLs should not be prioritised over the right to adequate housing, and we welcome government’s exploration of this issue through these two consultation exercises. This is a pressing and complex issue and we believe there will not be a single policy fix to this problem, instead it needs to be tackled from a range of angles. Both planning and registration may be tools to be used as part of a multi-pronged approach to address this situation effectively and fairly. Resourcing of local authorities to monitor and enforce and controls will be essential to success."