The new Labour government is pressing ahead with plans to clampdown on short-lets across England.
The government wants to restrict short-let supply by granting local authorities greater powers to introduce planning consent for landlords where deemed necessary. A new mandatory national register for short-term lets has also been proposed.
A ministry source told The Telegraph that the registration scheme will be introduced “as quickly as possible”.
In Wales, councils already have a similar register – known as an “Article 4 Direction” – but the policy extends to second home ownership as well as holiday lets. Northern Ireland has long had a registration scheme in place.
The short-term let rules were initially promised by former Conservative housing secretary Michael Gove in December 2022, as part of a package of measures designed to reassure Tory backbenchers in uproar over his planning changes.
Some analysts have warned against a new registration scheme for short-term let controls – a move they say has so far backfired in Edinburgh.
