A Tory MP representing a popular tourist area has attacked the proliferation of short lets, and wants a “locals first” policy for housing.
Simon Jupp, first elected din 2019, represents East Devon, a constituency which includes popular tourist areas such as Exmouth, Sidmouth and Topsham.
In a column in the Exmouth Journal he says: “I appreciate that short-term holiday lets can bring visitors and boost our economy. But … in Parliament I made a clear case that we need to prioritise the people who make our county such a great place to visit.”
He says he backs Tory government measures such as higher rates of stamp duty on additional properties, closing business rate loopholes, and allowing councils to double council tax on second homes. But he singles out short lets as requiring ”more action.”
Jupp says a government proposal to bring in a registration scheme for short term lets will bring them up to a higher standards and will give councils “the data they need to take enforcement action against anti-social behaviour and non-compliance with key health and safety regulations.”
He backs giving councils stricter powers to block short lets in areas where there are ”already too many.”
However, his most innovative proposal - which has has suggested in the past - is to reserve a percentage of new build homes for people with a local family or economic connection to an area.
“We do need to build more homes in East Devon while looking after locals first” claims Jupp.
“Visitors contribute a great deal to our communities in East Devon. But their stay is often only enjoyable because of local workers behind the bar of a pub, in the kitchen of a restaurant, or tapping on the till of a local high street shop.”
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Good luck with that one 🤔 it’s the locals turning them into short let’s from long term 😂😂
Interfering in the free market to benefit a particular group of people generally results in unintended consequences. What we need is a coherent housing strategy that provides plentiful housing of all tenures.
Net immigration of 660,000 this year - where does the Govt think they all go?
They clearly think they don’t sleep 😴 therefore no bed or home is required 🤔
They are busy filling up our hotels. Soon we won't be able to go away anywhere in the UK. There will be no AirBNBs, or hotel space. I will have to lower myself to a caravan or sleeping in the car.
Simon Jupp is fully aware Section 24 is the main cause of the proliferation of holiday let's. When challenged on this point he just copies and pastes the nonsense the government came up with in 2017 to justify Section 24.
If he had any knowledge of housing matters he would know "his" idea of reserving properties for locals is an old tried and tested idea known as Section 106. It has been extensively used for decades in the West Country. In a buoyant market it may be OK. In a sticky market it can be extremely difficult and expensive to get a mortgage on a property with a Section 106 restriction.
How can you reserve a house for locals if the locals can't afford it?
He should have thought about that earlier and challenged his own party on a locals first policy for jobs, any locals working the land or are they all sat in Spoons sponsored by everyone else.
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