MP calls for stricter checks of Airbnb-style holiday letting

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  • 23/03/2017
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MP calls for stricter checks of Airbnb-style holiday letting
A London MP has called for a mandatory notification system for homeowners looking to let their properties as a home from home through platforms like Airbnb.

Karen Buck, MP for Regent’s Park and Kensington South, claimed her constituents are tired of seeing their communities becoming “an unofficial part of the hospitality industry”.

Buck has tabled a motion to bring in a bill which would require homeowners to notify their local authority of the dates in which they plan to let their home, via an online notification system. She claims the move would allow authorities to enforce the 90-day annual maximum for short lets regulation which came into effect this year.

At present, said Buck, this is difficult to do as officers must spend “an inordinate amount of time trying to identify properties from website photographs where addresses are not provided [on sites] like Airbnb.”

She said: “This is not about seeking permission, but is merely about allowing local authorities to know where short and holiday lets are taking place so that they are able to enforce effectively.”

She added: “By all means encourage people to make good use of their homes and earn extra cash, but let us make sure that this does not intensify the housing crisis, [inflict] land costs on others—while sharing none of the rewards—and inflict misery on long-term residents who, to their shock, can find themselves waking up in a hotel annexe, but after all the caretakers have gone home.”

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