The government has revealed it could soon give English councils even more powers to clamp down on short lets.

Answering a Parliamentary question about the effect of second-home ownership on housing availability in coastal and rural communities, housing minister Matthew Pennycook said it recognised how excessive concentrations of short-term lets and second homes impacted on the availability and affordability of homes for local residents.

Pennycook added: “We are considering what additional powers we might give local authorities to enable them to respond to the pressures created by short-term lets and second homes.”

Councils can already apply a premium of up to 100% extra on the council tax bills of second homes, while the government has plans to roll out a visitor levy across England - expected to be a few pounds per person per night - giving mayors of ‘strategic authorities’ more power and cash to invest in local economies, but also helping to increase visitor numbers. Landlords in England will also soon have to be part of a mandatory short-lets registration scheme.

Flourishing

New ONS figures show that the sector is flourishing, with an 11.5% increase in guest nights booked via online platforms such as Airbnb in 2025 compared with the previous 12-month period. From January to December 2025, there were 100,911,620 guest nights spent in short-term lets in the UK. 

Wales had the largest increase in guest nights among individual UK countries, rising by 17.4%, from 6,282,250 in 2024 to 7,374,780. Northern Ireland had the lowest increase of 10.8%, while Scotland rose by 10.9% and England by 11.1%.

In England, the North East saw the biggest percentage rise in guest nights, increasing by 22.2% to 2,753,800 in 2025.

The share of guest nights from domestic visitors to the UK increased by 3% to 67.2% between 2024 and 2025.

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