To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will introduce local occupancy restrictions for York to prevent second homes and holiday lettings.
Answered on
30 June 2021
The Government recognises the benefits that second homes and short-term holiday lettings can bring to local economies and to the tourism sector. Holiday letting increases consumer choice and encourages the dispersal of tourism across the country, bringing domestic and international tourists to new areas and allowing households with underused accommodation to supplement their income.
However, the Government also recognises the adverse effect that large numbers of second homes can have on some areas, and that is why we introduced a series of measures to help mitigate those effects, such as a 3% higher rate of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) for those purchasing additional properties.
Under our new First Homes scheme for first-time buyers, which provides properties with a discount of at least 30%, local authorities are able to restrict eligibility to local people for the first 3 months of marketing to ensure that local first-time buyers are prioritised.
The Government recently published the Tourism Recovery Plan which includes a commitment to consult on a possible tourist accommodation registration scheme. Such a scheme could be used to underpin future government interventions, for example regarding the regulation of short term letting. The Government is committed to hearing views of all interested parties on the scheme.