Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will wait until the Government publishes its response to the Review of Property Conditions in the Private Rented Sector before taking forward the Deregulation Bill.

The Government has stated its clear intent to use the Deregulation Bill to help reform the outdated provisions of section 25 of the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1973.

Londoners who want to rent out their homes for less than 90 consecutive days, such as through a service like Airbnb, technically still have to pay to apply for planning permission from their council – something that does not apply anywhere else in the country. These provisions caused controversy during the 2012 Olympics, and are irregularly enforced by different London boroughs leading to confusion.

We want to change this archaic system by giving Londoners the freedom to rent out their homes on a temporary basis, such as when they are on holiday, without having to deal with unnecessary red tape and the bureaucracy of paying of a municipal permit. The internet is changing the way we work and live, and the law needs to catch up.

The measure will not allow homes to be turned into hotels or hostels – this would still require ‘change of use’ planning permission, and measures will be put in place to prevent abuse of such reforms or the permanent loss of residential accommodation.

Such reforms will benefit London’s strong tourism industry by expanding the pool of competitively priced accommodation, and allow families to earn some extra cash when they themselves go away on holiday.

Such reforms would follow changes introduced last year to make it easier for residents to rent out an unused home parking space to earn extra money, helping expand the availability of parking options for commuters and visitors.

Consultation with interested parties will help inform the detail of secondary legislation to implement these reforms fully. We will publish the Government’s response to the consultation on the Review of Property Conditions in the Private Rented Sector later this year.