The government has said its changes to the planning rules will “protect” residents from being pushed out of their communities by excessive short-term lets.
But Bedford Borough Council said this would only offer “limited help” to rehouse residents in temporary accommodation.
The new reforms will give councils the power to control short-term lets by making them subject to the planning process.
The government claimed this will “support” local people when high numbers of short-term lets are preventing them from finding housing they can afford to buy or to rent.
Last month (24 January), the council’s executive announced that temporary accommodation is now a “corporate priority”.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) asked the council if short-term lets are an issue in the borough, and how many residents in temporary accommodation could be found a home if these properties stopped being used as short-term lets.
A council spokesperson said short-term lets are not an issue, adding: “It is considered unlikely that short-term let properties would be offered on the private rental market at affordable rents if they were not being used for short-term lets, due to the current private sector rental market in the borough.
“Therefore, the ability to rehouse people from temporary accommodation into former short-term lets would most likely be very limited.”
When asked if the council welcomes these proposed changes to the planning regulations, the spokesperson said: “Generally, the council would welcome changes that would increase the supply of good quality affordable housing in the borough.
“However, it is too early to comment on these proposals.”
As part of the plans, there’ll be a mandatory national register to give local authorities the information they need about the short-term lets in their area.
The council said it doesn’t currently have a register of short term lets in the borough.
Existing dedicated short-term lets will automatically be reclassified into the new use class and will not require a planning application.
The spokesperson added that it is too early to say if it has the resources to carry out any additional work that these changes could bring to its planning team.
by John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
