Brighton And Hove Council May Licence And Regulate Booming B&B Sector

A crackdown on holiday lets such as Airbnbs could be on the cards if Brighton and Hove City Council’s cabinet backs tougher measures.

Ideas include making better use of the planning system and exploring options to licence and register short-term lets, often just known as Airbnbs after one of the leading online letting businesses.

The topic is expected to be on the agenda when the cabinet meets next month after a report by the council’s Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The cabinet could also lobby the government to bring in the necessary legal changes to make it easier to regulate the booming sector. Government departments are working on the issue.

The growth in the number of properties being used as Airbnbs has led to fewer homes being available to rent, exacerbating the housing shortage.

It is believed to have helped to fuel higher rents and push up the sale price of flats and houses in Brighton and Hove and elsewhere.

The boom in holiday lets has also placed more strain on the council’s rubbish and recycling services, according to a report.

And with no licensing and no register, it is suspected that small letting businesses are getting away with not paying business rates, prompting calls for any tax loopholes to be closed.

An estimated 2,000 to 6,000 homes were being used as short-term and holiday lets in Brighton and Hove, according to a report to the scrutiny committee in March.

Green councillor Ollie Sykes said that short-term lets affected housing availability in Brighton and Hove, adding that 2,100 homes in the area were for rent on the website Rightmove.

Councillor Sykes said:

“Basically, there is nowhere to rent in Brighton and Hove any more. It’s all Airbnb which is absolutely crazy.

“I’m all for compliant regulated short-term lets as provided by Catherine Lane but also clear that should be controlled by planning due to the impact on housing.”

Catherine Lane runs My Holiday Lets and told the scrutiny committee that houses were let in Kemp Town and Brunswick Square which were registered as “main residences” – and as a result, the owners did not pay business rates.

Almost 450 operators were registered to pay business rates. And those registered as businesses had to pay for commercial waste collections unlike those whose properties were regarded as residential.

The scrutiny committee set up a task and finish group which prepared the report and proposed measures to be considered by the cabinet next month.

The report said that short-term lets tended to produce more rubbish and recycling than regular homes, with visitors putting their waste out on the wrong days.

The scrutiny committee discussed steps taken by other councils, including in Blackpool where a holiday lets zone had been established in the strategic plan for the area.

The cabinet could propose creating a zone or zones where Airbnbs are permitted and where they are not usually to be allowed as work gets under way on the new City Plan for Brighton and Hove.

This could operate in a similar way to the hotels zoning that currently exists, encouraging hotels on the seafront and in central areas while discouraging them in other places.

The cabinet is due to meet at Hove Town Hall at 2pm on Thursday 26 June. The meeting is scheduled to be webcast.