Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to prevent properties being incorrectly designated as short term lets.

There is no single, consistently applied definition of a short-term let.

The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 defines a “short-term rental property” as (a) a dwelling, or part of a dwelling, which is provided by a person (“the host”) to another person (“the guest”) for use by the guest as accommodation other than the guest’s only or principal residence, in return for payment (whether or not by the guest), and in the course of a trade or business carried on by the host, and (b) any dwelling or premises, or part of a dwelling or premises, not falling within paragraph (a) which is specified for the purposes of this paragraph.

For local property taxation purposes, whether a short-term let is assessed for business rates or council tax will depend on how many nights the property is available to let each year and how many nights it was actually let. Properties must have been available for short-term letting for at least 140 days in the previous year and demonstrate at least 70 days of actual letting activity in the previous year before they can be assessed for business rates. The Valuation Office Agency has a duty to maintain accurate council tax and business rates lists.