Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture and Media, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of landlords converting a private home purchased under a buy-to-let mortgage to a short term holiday let.

There is a lack of data and evidence about the size and shape of the short term lets sector, which is why DCMS issued a call for evidence on the benefits and challenges presented by the rise in short-term and holiday letting.

The call for evidence ran from 29 June to 21 September and analysis of the 4,000 responses is now underway.

We wanted to hear from a wide range of stakeholders, including local authorities, in order to build a much-needed evidence base on these issues and enable us to develop proportionate policy options for a possible future consultation.

With the call for evidence now closed, we will now consider the evidence collected and look to provide updates to the sector over the coming months regarding next steps.