Nickie Aiken, Member of Parliament for the Cities of London & Westminster, led the calls for a registration scheme for short-term lets in her debate in the House of Commons Chamber.
Short-term lets are where homeowners rent a property or room on a nightly basis or over one or two days. It's a great way for tourists to see our neighbourhoods and whilst many landlords are responsible, Nickie is well aware of the misery that rogue short-let operators can cause for local people across the Cities of London & Westminster.
In the House of Commons, Nickie made the case for a registration scheme, and explained how between 2015 and 2020, the number of AirBnB listings in London grew by 378%. Further, across six of the largest online letting platforms, by 2019 there were over 73,000 listings in London of short-term lets. Equivalent to 1 in every 50 homes in the capital.
The explosion in numbers is increasing pressure on housing stock leading to higher property and rent prices, creating a rise in anti social behaviour, noise complaints & dumped rubbish, and creating an unfair playing field in the accommodation sector.
Speaking after her Debate, Nickie said,
"I'm just out of the Commons Chamber, having led my debate on short-term letting and the sharing economy. It was a really good quality debate, I think. Thanks to the Members who joined me, including Karen Buck, the Westminster North MP. We heard from Edinburgh, we heard from York, we heard from Felicity Buchan in Kensington and MPs from Kent about the blight that short-term letting has on our neighbourhoods and on our particular tourist hot spots.
"The Minister replied and obviously understands and appreciates the problems that we are facing because of the abuse of short-term letting, and I am encouraged that I hope that the Government will now really publish its consultation on tourist accommodation. And when we do, please do take part in that consultation. The Government has got to hear from you and your experiences."
