Notice of Motion

LABOUR GROUP

“PaRTY HOUSES” – SHORT-TERM LETS

This council

(1) Notes with concern the ongoing issues raised by residents in neighbouring properties to ‘party houses’, many relating to alcohol abuse, noise disturbance, littering and vandalism. Whilst the vast majority of visitors to our city enjoy themselves without these issues and are very welcome here, we hear residents’ concerns and wish to build on previous work conducted by the council in order to take action against the exceptions.

(2) Recognises that it currently does not possess the powers to intervene and regulate these properties, and that this is a problem faced by many local authorities across the country.

(3) Deems it reasonable to request sufficient delegated powers to regulate the commercial lets market in the interests of residents, particularly in tourist destination authorities like Brighton & Hove.

Therefore, this council asks the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to request the delegation of additional powers to local authorities, in order to allow the regulation of commercial short-term holiday lets, often known locally as ‘party houses.’

Proposed by: Councillor Evans                         Seconded by: Councillor O’Quinn

Supporting Information:

This council is acutely aware of the impact of so-called party houses, which affect tourist destinations and seaside towns and cities in particular.

This council notes previous attempts to address this issue, including cross-party work and a motion calling upon the government to pass national legislation and take action, and regrets that no such action was taken. We note that local authorities currently do not have the ability or the powers to adequately address this issue.

This council now asks for delegated powers so that we can take action where necessary and as appropriate. We need regulatory powers to stand up for our residents and ensure holiday lets are conducted in a responsible way.