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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to (1) give local authorities permission to hold a register of properties available for short-term let by Airbnb and similar platforms, and (2) enable local councils to check that (a) such properties are suitably sized for the number of persons to whom they will be let, and (b) such properties are not illegally sublet in a manner which is contrary to the terms of their leases.

The Government currently has no plans to provide for local authorities to hold registers or enable inspections in respect of short term lettings. Local authorities have powers to address overcrowding where they consider action would be appropriate. Whether a property is sublet in a manner which is contrary to the terms of a lease is a matter to be resolved between the leaseholder and the freeholder.