London holiday lets need local authority permission

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brightmike
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London holiday lets need local authority permission

Post by brightmike »

Just found this online:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/end- ... extra-cash

Apparently London holiday lets need local authority permission. I'm not in London but may be interesting to some. It also looks like a law change to remove this requirement is in progress.
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greenbarn
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Post by greenbarn »

AIUI holiday lets may need permission anywhere in the country if the main use is changed from a dwelling to a FHL. I think the current regulation in London applies even if the main use isn't changed - which was probably impossible to police and unworkable.

Elsewhere local authorities seem to vary considerably as to whether they're bothered about change of use permission for a property becoming a holiday let as its main use; the exception seems to be where a property might be let to an unrelated group of people (friends, club etc) where, following complaints from locals, there have been cases of the business being closed down by the authorities as they didn't have change of use permission (and it wouldn't have been granted).
brightmike
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Post by brightmike »

Did you need permission for your property greenbarn?

Brighton & Hove City Council website states:

"If a property owner wishes to let their property out as a holiday let, there are no planning restrictions to stop them doing so. This means that potentially the owner could convert their property without any notification to neighbours or the local
authority. "

It further states that "[there is] no use class within planning
legislation for short-term holiday lets"

London appears to have its own specific legislation to require planning permission.
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greenbarn
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Post by greenbarn »

We had to get permission as it was an agricultural building being converted. The consent only allows for use as holiday lets; that's common in many places with the conversion of old buildings.

In many areas consent is required for the change of use from a dwelling (but may well be rubber stamped?) How they arrive at this is no doubt a murky mix of the availability of housing for locals, the effect of letting on tourism and local economy and which way the wind is blowing. Good to see Brighton and Hove addressing it up front with a clear policy statement.
As a separate issue Building Control need notifying and will stick their nose in on relevant issues.

Where there have been lawsuits it seems to have been the situations where complaints have arisen and the extent of the letting goes beyond what might be regarded as "letting to a family group" or something. There's a reference to a specific case somewhere on LMH but I can't remember the names to search for it!

The London situation seems to be a case of imposing additional restrictions on very occasional letting (such as moving out and letting your Wimbledon flat to a couple of impoverished low-ranking tennis players for a week.)
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Post by Essar »

This de-regulation was a direct result of the rise of AB.
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