Housing Secretary Michael Gove has this morning announced wholesale changes to planning and regulations surrounding short lets.

His proposals include:

– planning permission will be required for future short-term lets;

– a mandatory national register;

– existing homeowners can continue to let out their own main or sole home for up to 90 nights a year;

– unspecified proposals which Gove says “will give communities greater control over future growth”.

Under the clampdown councils will be given greater power to control short-term lets by making them subject to the planning process. Gove claims “this will support local people in areas where high numbers of short-term lets are preventing them from finding housing they can afford to buy or to rent.”

Meanwhile, the 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.

The government says it is still working on the details so that the register “does not apply disproportionate regulation for example on property owners that let out their home infrequently.”

The proposed planning changes would see a new planning use class created for short-term lets not used as a sole or main home. Existing dedicated short-term lets will automatically be reclassified into the new use class and will not require a planning application.

The government says it also intends to introduce associated permitted development rights – one allowing for a property to be changed from a short-term let to a standard residential dwelling, and a second that would allow a property to be changed to a short-term let. Local authorities would be able to remove these permissions and require full planning permission if they deem it necessary.

Both of these measures are focussed on short-term lets, and therefore the planning changes and the register will not affect hotels, hostels or B&Bs.

Further details are expected later today. 

Gove says: “These changes will ensure people have more control over housing in their cherished communities. We know short-term lets can be helpful for the tourist economy, but we are now giving councils the tools to bring them under control so that local people can rent those homes as well. These changes strike a balance between giving local people access to more affordable housing, while ensuring the visitor economy continues to flourish.”

And another government minister – tourism minister Julia Lopez – adds: “Short-term lets provide flexibility for homeowners and give tourists more accommodation options than ever before, but this should not prevent local people from being able to buy or rent homes in their area. The government is committed to getting the balance right to ensure both local people and our visitor economy can thrive.”