Propertymark has published its in-depth report: The Impact of Short-Term Lets on UK Housing taking intel submitted by its members.
Over half of the respondents to Propertymark’s recent survey said that the number of short-term lets has grown within their local area in the UK over the past four years with a peak during the pandemic when many people decided to holiday in the UK rather than risk travelling abroad.
However, with current publicly available data on the number of second homes being inconsistent, Propertymark says that all government across the UK need to find better ways to collect data on the use and location of short-term lets and holiday homes in order to target its approach effectively.
The rise in short-term lets impacts both the sales and lettings market in different ways but lettings agents overwhelmingly agree that in the long run, it will negatively impact the private rented sector..
The research also highlighted the profoundly localised nature of the issue, with 76% of agents operating in tourist hotspots reporting an increase in the number of STLs over the past four years. This dropped to only 33% of agents operating in non-tourist hotspots.
However, the rise of short-term lets doesn’t seem to be turning many agent's heads as a business opportunity, data collected separately as part of Propertymark’s monthly Private Rented Sector Reports reveal between 5 and 10 per cent of member agents have at least one short-term let property in their portfolio. A shrinking Private Rented Sector report published by Propertymark earlier this year showed that STLs made up less than two per cent of the average agent’s managed portfolio in March 2022.
The government is considering introducing a licensing scheme with physical checks for short-term let premises in England. 68% of respondents to Propertymark’s survey supported its introduction this as the primary solution to increase the supply of PRS homes.
Timothy Douglas, Head of Policy and Campaigns, comments: “The issues surrounding short-term lets are back in focus as housing availability and affordability is high on the agenda. Feedback from our members shows that the issue is complex, very localised and is having a significant impact on the use and supply of housing across the country.
“Both the Scottish and Welsh Governments have taken action to address the issue and for England, the vast majority of our members support the introduction of a licencing scheme with physical checks for short-term let premises as well extending the current health and safety requirements and tenant protections to short-term lettings.
“As highlighted in our report, the challenge for the government is balancing the flexibility that short-term letting brings with the existing rules for longer-term renting, the tax system and the impact on communities as well as creating ways in which local authorities can gather data and control short term lets in their areas.”
