MPs debate housing in tourist hotspots

Amid a bumper week in Parliament for rural Britain, MPs gathered on Tuesday for a Westminster Hall debate on housing in tourist destinations. Although not exclusively a rural issue, with Samantha Dixon MP of Chester and Rachael Maskell MP of York sharing experience from their historic cities, the debate was dominated by MPs for areas of picturesque countryside including Cornwall, Devon and Strangford. 

In contention were properties being converted from family homes to short-term lets offered through online booking platforms like Airbnb. Everyone agreed on the importance of tourism to these local economies, with accommodation for tourists being an essential element. Conversely, neither communities nor the tourism sector itself can be sustained without workers, and they in turn need good local housing. Highlighting added pressure from tourist destinations’ attractiveness to retirees, Selaine Saxby MP said:

“In North Devon, we are at risk of creating a cross between a care home and a holiday park, and we do not have the staff for either. Tourism is essential to our economy, but it cannot be at the expense of local people finding a home. We can and must find a balance.”  

Tim Farron MP raised concerns about the use of Section 21 notices – evictions to take possession from a tenant with no fixed term – so that the landlord can convert a home into a holiday let. These, he related, have uprooted entire families and although one platform had agreed no longer to book properties made available that way, Airbnb and others have made no such commitment. Housebuilding, said Steve Double MP who introduced the debate, is not a complete solution: his Cornish constituency has already seen rates above the national average, yet the supply still cannot catch up with demand. 

Simon Jupp MP set out some of the measures the Government is taking to restore balance. It had already closed a loophole that allowed second homeowners to avoid council tax by calling the property a holiday let, registering for business rates and applying for relief; since April, to qualify for business rates a property must be available to let at least 140 days a year, and actually let for 70. It has also consulted on establishing a holiday let registration scheme to allow councils to monitor regulatory compliance and gain better insight into the local property landscape.  

Mr Jupp argued that councils should make better use of powers to impose a ‘local connection test’ on developers, requiring them only to sell or let new housing to people who already live in or have a substantial connection to the area. Cherilyn Mackrory MP said some parishes are introducing restrictive covenants and measures in perpetuity to prevent new homes being turned into holiday lets after a few years, but the process ought to be easier.  

Housing Minister Lee Rowley MP spoke for the Government and re-committed his colleagues to respond about the registration scheme. He also noted a separate consultation on introducing a planning category covering short-term lets. Under that proposal, there would be a national permitted development right to convert a property to a holiday let, but this could be revoked by a local planning authority if needed to protect the character of the area. 

The debate showed welcome cross-party recognition that a balance must be struck between accommodating tourists and local people, and the challenge this represents will not be uniform across the country. There were indications of progress, and the Countryside Alliance will continue to monitor these in the interests of safeguarding rural communities.