Cherilyn Mackrory, MP for Truro and Falmouth, has welcomed the announcement today that the Government will commit to a registration scheme and new 'change of use’ rules for second homes and short-term holiday lets.
Speaking in Parliament today in a debate on the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, housing Minister Lucy Frazer recognised that areas such as Cornwall have particular problems with short-term holiday lets, which result in large parts of the county having limited long term residents, creating problems for the housing market and local services.
The Minister expressed her gratitude to several colleagues for highlighting and campaigning on this issue, including Cherilyn as the Member for Truro and Falmouth.
Commenting on the new measures, the Minster said:
“As a result of the points they have raised, we intend to deliver a new registration scheme for short-term lets, starting with a further consultation on the exact design of the scheme that will launch before the summer recess.
“We will go even further. We will also consult on change of use classes to enable local areas to better control changes of use to short term lets if they wish. This consultation on changes to use classes and the introduction of national permitted development rights to enable change of use where there is no local issue will be launched early next year.”
Commenting, Cherilyn said:
“A registration scheme for short-term holiday lets is something I have been campaigning hard on and is a huge step in developing our understanding of the number, type and concentration of short-term lets in Cornwall and their impact on our communities.
I am also grateful to the Government for listening to our calls for a consultation on change of use legislation. The housing market in Cornwall has long been impacted by the number of properties being flipped from long term rentals to holiday lets. By requiring change of use to have to go through the planning process, we will be able to crack down on this issue and better control the number of short-term lets in our communities.
I look forward to working with the Government as they consult on these new rules, and I remain committed to tackling the housing crisis with solutions such as those announced today.”