Second homes planning permission bill debate adjourned to 15 January
A Liberal Democrat private member's bill would make owners get planning permission before using a home as a second home or holiday let. The government says it cannot support it.
A bill that would make people apply for planning permission before turning a house into a second home or short-term holiday let did not get its second reading in the Commons on Friday.
MPs adjourned the debate on the Homes and Planning Bill, brought by St Ives Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George, and it is due to resume on Friday 15 January 2027. The housing minister, Matthew Pennycook, spoke against it.
What the bill would do
The bill would create new planning use classes for second homes and holiday lets, with the aim that a change of use would need permission from the council. Mr George described it as a menu of options that councils and communities could choose to adopt, and said the planning element copied an approach already used in Wales.
It also covers community-led housing, with extra powers for councils and community groups to buy land for social and affordable homes. Mr George told MPs he would be willing to drop that part at committee stage if it meant the second homes measure could go ahead.
He said there were 2,700 holiday lets and Airbnb listings in his constituency, while the 65 homes available to rent privately were all priced well above the local housing allowance.
Why the government opposed it
Mr Pennycook said planning use classes are attached to the land or building rather than to who owns it, and that the government was not persuaded the bill's approach would work in practice. He said that England's existing 90-night limit on short-term lets in London made the picture more complicated than in Wales.
He said ministers shared the aim of helping local people find homes in seaside and rural areas, and were looking at what further powers councils might need. Some countries use licensing for holiday lets, some use planning rules and some use both, he said, and the government was considering all options.
