Airbnb Inc (NASDAQ:ABNB, ETR:6Z1) properties in the UK are being targeted by new rules aimed at improving the rental market.
New restrictions on short-term letting were launched today, requiring new planning permission if a house is going to be rented out for more than 90 days in a year, which would imply the property is being used mostly as an Airbnb let or on another platform.
The short-term letting rules also include plans to set up a national register of properties being used for short-term letting within each local council district.
"Councils will be given greater power to control short-term lets by making them subject to the planning process," according to a statement by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Existing Airbnbs and other dedicated short-term lets will be reclassified into a new 'use class' and will not require a planning application, but new planning applications will not. Hotels, hostels and B&Bs will not be included in the planning changes or the register.
The rules aim to support local people in areas where high numbers of short-term lets are preventing them from finding housing they can afford to buy or to rent.
Housing Secretary Michael Gove said: "Short-term lets can play an important role in the UK’s flourishing tourism economy, providing great, easily-accessible accommodation in some of the most beautiful parts of our country.
"But in some areas, too many local families and young people feel they are being shut out of the housing market and denied the opportunity to rent or buy in their own community."
The government acknowledged that Airbnb and other such short-term letting platforms provide extra income for some homeowners and more options for tourists, but the government was trying to "[get] the balance right" so the mix of properties does not prevent local people from being able to buy or rent homes in their area.
Airbnb Northern Europe manager Amanda Cupples said the register would be "good news for everyone" as hosts "will benefit from clear rules that support their activity, and local authorities will get access to the information they need to assess and manage housing impacts and keep communities healthy, where necessary".