Londoners to be allowed to legally let homes to tourists
Londoners will soon be able to legally let their homes to holidaymakers using websites like Airbnb as a 40-year-old law designed to limit short lets in the capital is due to be amended.
Housing minister Brandon Lewis has confirmed that in future, homeowners in London will no longer have to apply for planning permission for lets of less than 90 days.
At the moment many of the thousands of Londoners who take paying guests without first applying for planning permission are technically breaking the law, although only a handful of councils actively enforce the legislation.
This includes Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea and Southwark and Camden.
Lewis said: "The reforms will also help boost London tourism, by increasing the availability of competitively priced accommodation, and reduce the number of houses lying empty."
He said London residents should be able to participate in the sharing economy, and enjoy the same freedom and flexibility as the rest of the country to temporarily let their homes – without facing disproportionate rules and regulations.
He said that following a change in the law, Londoners would be allowed to let their homes for a maximum of 90 days in a calendar year, so that properties cannot be used for short-term letting on a permanent basis.
"This will increase the amount of competitively priced accommodation available for people to rent, whether for work or as tourists, and reduce the amount of underused and otherwise empty properties in the capital," he said.
However, ABTA president Noel Josephides is an outspoken critic of those who use peer-to-peer sites like Airbnb to let their homes, saying at last year’s Travel Convention that they were part of the ‘black economy’.
He claimed those using the sites don’t declare their earnings, denying the Government income tax.
Josephides also called on the Government to regulate peer-to-peer accommodation sites to make sure property owners were complying with the same financial and health and safety regulations imposed on ‘legitimate’ accommodation providers.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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