Labour MP calls for new rules on holiday lets

John Whitby says planning permission should be required for holiday lets

A shortage of housing in a part of Derbyshire is being exacerbated by the number of second homes and holiday lets, an MP has said.

John Whitby, Labour MP for Derbyshire Dales, has backed calls for extra measures to control the number of second homes in his constituency being turned into holiday lets.

It comes as councillors on Derbyshire Dales District Council agreed to write to Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who has the housing brief as part of her portfolio, about the situation.

Mr Whitby told the BBC: "The issue of housing is a huge one for the constituency, it's probably one of the biggest issues here."

'Major problem'

Restrictions would make it mandatory for home owners to apply for planning permission to turn their property into a holiday let - a move recommended by the previous Conservative government.

The district council has urged the Labour administration to bring this legislation to the House of Commons.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, second homes and holiday lets make up a quarter of all residential units in some villages in the Derbyshire Dales.

Mr Whitby told the BBC: "There is a chronic lack of housing... and holiday lets and second homes are taking away houses for people to buy and live in.

"This is a major problem, particularly for young people... it appears to me that loads of young people are leaving the area."

Mr Whitby said a similar proportion of homes being built in the area were lost to holiday lets and second homes.

The Derbyshire Dales area has a large number of homes used as holiday lets

He added: "I think it [new restrictions] would be helpful because it would allow us to manage it.

"I'm not saying we'd turn them all down but it would help to control the seepage away of the housing stock... on the face of it, I think it would be a benefit."

Neil Buttle, a councillor with Derbyshire Dales District Council, said in a recent meeting he was aware of one property owner who resides in Chicago but spends just two days a year in the area.

He added that out of 700-800 homes in the village of Tideswell that he represents, 134 were holiday lets.

Derbyshire Dales District Council is to raise the issue with Angela Rayner

Derbyshire Dales District Council has agreed to bring in measures so people with second homes have to pay twice as much council tax from April 2025.

A spokesperson for the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government, said: “We understand the frustration people feel when, amidst a housing crisis, second homes stand empty for months and communities become ghost towns when holidays end.

“That’s why councils will have the power to charge a premium of up to 100% on the council tax bills of second homes from next April, and we will introduce a registration scheme for short-term lets to protect the spirit of our communities.”

Additional reporting by Eddie Bisknell, Local Democracy Reporter

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