Proposed legislation would stop homes from becoming holiday lets without permission and give communities greater control over housing.

Lib Dem Andrew George’s Private Members Bill, promoted under the title ‘First homes before second homes - Need before greed’ aims to tackle the housing crisis by addressing the impact of second homes and holiday lets.

The Affordable Homes Bill, which has its second reading on Friday (13 November), would create a new planning use class for second and holiday homes, so councils could manage concentrations of non-permanent occupancy where housing pressures are acute. It would also extend the community right to buy, letting parish and town councils and community groups acquire land and buildings for affordable, community-led housing.

Communities

The MP for St Ives says that in too many communities, local people are being priced out of the places where they grew up and work. “Building more homes alone has not solved the problem,” George adds. “My Bill would give communities practical tools to secure genuinely affordable homes and help local authorities respond to the pressures created by excessive numbers of second homes and holiday lets.”

He adds that in West Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, more than 25,000 households are on housing waiting lists, while there is a similar number of second and holiday homes, illustrating the scale of the challenge the Bill seeks to address.

“These are balanced, common-sense measures which would help ensure that communities remain places where local people can live, work and raise their families.”

Last week, the government announced that its planned visitor levy would cover short lets while landlords will need to sign up to a short let register in England from next March.

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