Councillors want planning controls to be brought in and tax loopholes closed to tackle the effects of holiday lets in Brighton and Hove.
The views emerged as Brighton and Hove City Council prepared to submit a response to the government’s plans to introduce new regulations for short-term holiday lets.
Members of the council’s Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee discussed lobbying the government for legal changes to restrict the uncontrolled spread of short-term holiday lets, sometimes just referred to as Airbnbs.
The committee met at Hove Town Hall on Tuesday (25 March). Members heard from My Holiday Lets business owner Catherine Lane.
She said that there are houses let in Kemp Town and Brunswick Square which are registered as “main residences” – and as a result the owners do not pay business rates.
She said that there were estate agents “actively suggesting” that people could circumvent any planning rules by letting “main residences” let out for brief periods.
Ms Lane said: “For instance, there are many four and five-bedroom properties in Kemp Town that operate solely on weekends and accommodate up to 20 guests but I know the student children of the owners supposedly live in full time.
“These properties assert that they are their owners’ or their student children’s main residences to circumvent paying business rates, potentially reduce capital gains tax liabilities on a sale and potentially so they can get cheaper finance on these properties.
“In Brunswick Square, although most properties would qualify for small business rates relief, there are only three properties listed as holiday lets at the valuation office.
“And I know of about 50 such properties which certainly aren’t main residences which shows you the scale of the issue.”
The committee received a report from the council’s Short-Term Lets Task and Finish Group. It said that Rachael Maskell, the Labour MP who is working on a short-term lets private member’s bill, had estimated that there was about £6 billion in undeclared tax from the short-term lets sector.
In Brighton and Hove, it is not clear how many homes are used as short-term lets but the figure is believed to be between 2,000 and 6,000.
The committee was told that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules made data gathering and monitoring difficult.
Almost 450 operators had registered to pay business rates. The report noted that properties used as businesses should apply for commercial waste collection but short-term lets do not.
Cityclean 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.
Labour councillor Julie Cattell said that the problems was worse in places such as St Ives where whole streets were taken up with short-term lets.
Councillor Cattell said: “We are not as badly affected as that but it’s pretty awful.”
Green councillor Ollie Sykes said that short-term lets affected housing availability in Brighton and Hove, adding that 2,100 local homes were for rent on the website Rightmove.
Councillor Sykes said: “Basically, there is nowhere to rent in Brighton and Hove any more. It’s all Airbnb which is absolutely crazy.
“I’m all for compliant, regulated short-term lets as provided by Catherine Lane, but also clear that should be controlled by planning due to the impact on housing.”
He asked why Brighton and Hove could not follow Blackpool’s model which required planning consent.
Labour councillor Amanda Evans, who chairs the overview and scrutiny committee, said: “So far they’ve had some push back from their holiday lets and have won every single appeal that has gone through the planning appeals process which is very interesting and very encouraging.
“However, they have done that through their existing city plan, or their equivalent, where they wrote it into their plan and therefore they have won the appeals.”
Brighton and Hove has a hotels zones similar to Blackpool and committee members backed the recommendation to include a holiday lets zone in the next City Plan – to have more control.
The task and finish groups recommendations will go before the council’s cabinet along with the Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s comments.
Thete are many places to rent in Brighton and Hove but they are very expensive. Every weekend people come from all over to Brighton and need Airbnbs and short lets… We have a unique city with many independent shops, these shops are on the brink with many going bust… If you want to keep Brighton independent and unique then keep the Airbnbs, we need them… Business wont survive with just local support, theres only so much each person can buy, we need the influx of wekenders and holiday makers more than ever at the moment.
But not at the expense of the locals, who are paying eye watering rents due to the shortage of properties short term lets have contributed towards, and often have to put up with the antisocial behavior that accompanies them. We need to identify, regulate and tax these operators in the same way we do with hotels and guesthouses, and I hope the council are able to achieve their aims with this.
Its not so much about not having but more that they pay business rates like B&Bs do
The “Wild West” if holiday lets certainly needs taming. Controls over how many are in the area, regulation to ensure they are safe, registration so these businesses pay tax, and auditing to ensure compliance.