Holiday let crackdown to be discussed by council

A crackdown on holiday lets could be on the cards if Brighton & Hove City Council's cabinet backs tougher measures.

Council officials are exploring ways to regulate, licence and register short-term lets after a report raised fears that they were driving up rents in the city and putting a strain on rubbish and recycling services.

A report from the council's Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee found as many as 6,000 homes were being used as short-term and holiday lets.

Green councillor Ollie Sykes said: "Basically, there is nowhere to rent in Brighton and Hove any more. It's all Airbnb which is absolutely crazy."

Mr Sykes said that short-term lets affected housing availability in Brighton and Hove, adding that 2,100 homes in the area were for rent on the website Rightmove.

The report also suggested that some short-term letting businesses could be avoiding paying business rates, prompting calls for any tax loopholes to be closed, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The report also said that short-term lets tended to produce more rubbish and recycling than regular homes, with visitors putting their waste out on the wrong days.

The scrutiny committee discussed steps taken by other councils, including in Blackpool where a holiday lets zone had been established in the strategic plan for the area.

The cabinet could propose creating a zone or zones where Airbnbs are permitted and where they are not usually to be allowed as work gets under way on the new city plan for Brighton and Hove.

The issue is expected to be discussed when the cabinet meets at Hove Town Hall on 26 June.

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