Airbnb hosts will need planning permission to turn properties into short-term lets

Airbnb hosts will have to obtain planning permission to turn their properties into short-term lets under plans to crack down on nuisance holiday rentals.

The problem has pushed local people out of ‘cherished’ towns and villages, said Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove.

Ministers are deciding whether properties would need to be rented out in excess of 30, 60 or 90 days before they are considered to be holiday lets.

It is hoped the measures, if adopted, would stop individuals buying second homes with the primary intention of using them for short-term lets.

The changes would see a planning use class created for lets not used as a sole or main home.

Pictured: Interior of the Essex Stays retreat. The pub-turned-Airbnb comes complete with its own cocktail bar, where up to 20 people can stay for £2,100-a-night

Local authorities would be able to opt out of using such controls, but councils in tourist hot spots such as Cornwall and Whitby are expected to take full advantage to stop residents being squeezed out of holiday towns. Mr Gove today publishes a consultation proposing the introduction of planning permission for an existing home to be used as an Airbnb or other short-term let.

It comes weeks after Rishi Sunak promised he would look at preventing Airbnbs being used as party houses and hubs of anti-social behaviour.

The changes would not apply retrospectively, meaning only hosts looking to enter the holiday let market would be affected, although privately ministers have not ruled out a future crackdown on all properties. Mr Gove said: ‘Tourism brings many benefits to our economy but in too many communities we have seen local people pushed out of cherished towns, cities and villages by huge numbers of short-term lets.

‘I’m determined that we ensure more people have access to local homes at affordable prices and that we prioritise families desperate to rent or buy a home of their own close to where they work.’

Pictured: Jacuzzi at the Essex Stays retreat. The owners pledged to a local newspaper in January this year that they wanted to ‘minimise noise disturbance’

Separately, the Department for Culture has proposed a new registration scheme for such properties so ministers can get a full database of existing Airbnbs.

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said: ‘This new world of ultra-flexible short-term lets gives tourists more choice than ever before, but it should not come at the expense of local people being able to own their own home and stay local. The Government wants to help areas get the balance right and today we have an incomplete picture of the size and spread of our short-term lets market.

‘This consultation on a national registration scheme will give us the data we need to assess the position and enable us to address the concerns communities face.’

The changes are aimed at Airbnbs, meaning they would not hit hotels, hostels or B&Bs.

The number of holiday lets has soared since 2019, with listings in beauty spots such as the Lake District more than doubling in the past few years. Of the 30 neighbourhoods with the highest density of holiday rentals, analysis by The Times found 17 were in areas of outstanding natural beauty.

Last month, residents in a village in Chelmsford, Essex, complained that they could not sleep because the guests were blaring out music from a karaoke room and soaking themselves in a hot tub late into the night.

The Essex Stays retreat in Great Baddow is a pub-turned-Airbnb, complete with its own cocktail bar, where up to 20 people can stay for £2,100-a-night.

Mr Sunak was forced to apologise for the inconvenience caused to pensioner Jeff Jones, who confronted the Prime Minister about this noisy ‘party house’. 

The owners of Essex Stays did not respond to requests from MailOnline for comment last month. 

However, they pledged to a local newspaper in January this year that they wanted to ‘minimise noise disturbance’.