New year, same old failures: Illegal short-term lets continue to blight Westminster
As Westminster settles into January, many residents are starting the year in the same way they ended the last one: dealing with the disruption caused by illegal short-term lets.
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What should have been a quieter period after Christmas has instead brought more late-night parties, rubbish dumped on pavements and streets that feel less like communities and more like unregulated hotel corridors. For many people, this is no longer an occasional nuisance. It is a regular feature of life under Labour-run Westminster.
This is not about legitimate short-term letting done responsibly. And it is not about stopping tourism or visitors enjoying London, especially at a time of celebration over the festive period. It is about illegal short-term lets operating in clear breach of the law and the failure of a Labour administration to enforce the rules that already exist.
The Conservatives introduced clear rules on short-term lets. Private homes can only be let as short-term accommodation for up to 90 nights a year. Council-owned properties cannot be sublet at all. The aim was simple: protect housing supply, prevent abuse and give residents confidence that their neighbourhoods would not be overrun with strangers that disregard their way of life.
The problem is not the law. The problem is that Labour has failed to deliver real enforcement of illegal short-term lets.
At Westminster City Council, enforcement has been absent. Residents' complaints that stack up without meaningful action. Rogue operators carry on regardless, knowing there is little chance of being challenged. The result is streets left dirty, neighbours kept awake at night and a Labour administration that is in office but not in charge.
At City Hall, the pattern is familiar. Sadiq Khan speaks about supporting local communities but has failed to show leadership on this issue.
And while the local MP talks tough, Labour at a national level has failed to act. There has been plenty of rhetoric, but no meaningful action to give councils the backing they need to crack down properly. The consequence: continued disruption for local people.
The salt in the wound for suffering residents is that Labour’s failure to tackle disorder comes at the same time as council tax bills are projected to rise by around 27% over the coming years. This is the Same Old Labour story: higher taxes, less value for money and a lack of leadership.
Illegal short-term lets do real damage and hollow out communities. They push up rents, reduce the number of long-term homes available and erode the sense of stability that makes a street feel like a place to live rather than pass through.
Westminster Conservatives believe local people deserve better than this.
Our focus is straightforward: safe streets, a clean city and real action. That means enforcing the rules that are already in place instead of letting them gather dust. It means dealing firmly with repeat offenders who profit while local people pay the price. And it means proper coordination between the council, City Hall and central government so responsibility cannot be endlessly passed around and covered up.
The New Year should feel like a reset. Instead, Labour is offering more of the same disorder and excuses.
Westminster does not need another round of empty promises. It needs leadership that listens to local people, enforces the law and puts communities first. Until that happens, as Leader of Westminster Conservatives, I will continue to press for real action that local people have every right to expect.
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Cllr Paul Swaddle OBE is Leader of the Conservative opposition at Labour-run Westminster City Council.
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