Hotels and other accommodation continue to be undercut by the lack of regulation in the short-term let market.
UKHospitality has led calls for a scheme that ensures high standards of health and safety, fire safety and accessibility are applied to and followed by short-term lets, doing away with the two-tier accommodation sector that has been created by the lack of regulation in this area.
UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls said: “The Mayor is absolutely right to raise the issue of short-term lets in the capital. Whether it’s a lack of visibility preventing checks of basic standards of safety and accessibility or the impact it has on housing stocks, it’s clear that action is needed.
“We’ve backed the Government’s proposals for a registration scheme to tackle the issue in England and we agree with the Mayor that the data captured needs to be shared between both national and local authorities to drive good decision-making.
“A well-functioning scheme to bring short-term lets up to standard would be hugely significant and I hope that the Government can work with Mayors and local authorities across the country to make it a success.”