Scarborough and Whitby MP Pushes Government Over Holiday Lets Crisis

Alison Hume MP has challenged the housing minister in the House of Commons, calling for robust licensing schemes to tackle the impact of short-term lets in Whitby.

Scarborough and Whitby MP Alison Hume is continuing her efforts to tackle the ongoing issues surrounding second homes and holiday lets in Whitby.

The local Member of Parliament has warned that residents are being forced out of the towns they grew up in due to a lack of affordable housing, with coastal areas being particularly impacted by the prevalence of short-term lets.

Because Whitby is bordered by the sea and a national park, Ms Hume has highlighted that simply building more houses cannot completely solve the housing crisis. Instead, she is calling for measures to release existing homes back to local families.

During a recent exchange in the House of Commons, Ms Hume challenged the Minister of State for Housing, Matthew Pennycook MP, on the government's plans for regulation. The exchange between the Scarborough and Whitby MP and the housing minister unfolded as follows:

"Whitby is being hollowed out by short-term lets. Bordered by the sea and a national park, house building cannot solve the problem of a lack of affordable housing for residents. We must also release more existing homes for families in the town.

Can the Minister commit to ensuring licensing for short-term lets will be legislated for at the earliest opportunity in this parliament, as registration schemes whilst welcome will not be robust enough to tackle the problem.

Let me be clear there is no credible solution to the housing crisis that doesn't involve significantly boosting housing supply.

The government has already made changes to the tax system to reorientate the housing market away from secondary home owners and investors and towards local people looking for homes to live in.

While I'm afraid I can't commit to future legislation, I can assure her that we continue to consider how best we ensure that local planning authorities have the full set of tools they need to manage challenges of the kind she's described."

Despite the minister's reluctance to commit to future legislation regarding a licensing scheme, Ms Hume is continuing to press the issue alongside other parliamentarians.

She believes that while an imminent registration scheme is a welcome step, a full licensing scheme is the only robust way to properly regulate short-term lets.

Speaking about her ongoing discussions with the government, Ms Hume said:

"Myself and other MPs such as Rachel Maskell continue to have conversations with the government about getting a move on, not only with the licensing scheme, which I believe is the only way that we'll be able to regulate short-term lets, but with the registration scheme which is coming imminently, and that we have to regulate short-term lets because it's forcing residents in places like Whitby, as we know, out of the towns that they grew up in."

Alongside the push for robust licensing and registration schemes, attention is also being turned towards the tax system and how it currently treats holiday accommodation.

The current tax system allows properties to be moved into the business rate system if they are let out as holiday accommodation.

However, under the existing rules, owners can qualify for small business rates relief simply by letting a property for at least 70 nights a year and making it available for 140 days.

This classification often allows second home owners to avoid paying both council tax and business rates on their secondary properties.

Addressing the potential for reform on these tax loopholes, Ms Hume said:

"We are reviewing the rules that allow second home owners to avoid paying council tax by reclassifying their properties as holiday lets and moving them into the business rate system.

Under the current rules, owners can qualify for small business rates relief by letting a property for at least 70 nights a year and making it available for 140 days and this means that in many cases, they don't they are not paying council tax or business rates if they let any one property.

We're expecting something by the autumn on this."

An update on the tax rules surrounding holiday lets is anticipated by the autumn, as local representatives continue to seek solutions to ensure more homes are made available for local people to live in.