Appendix 2

Short Term Lets Task & Finish Group, Recommended Terms of Reference (draft)

1. Purpose

1.1 The purpose of the Short Term Lets (STLs) Task & Finish Group is to scrutinise the impact of Short Term Lets on the local community and economy. The group will develop a report with recommendations to improve further knowledge, regulation and management of STLs that will be presented to the Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee for agreement. Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee will further refer the Task & Finish group report to Cabinet and/or partners for consideration.

1.2 This Group will respond to the recent Council Notice of Motion on STLs rather than taking a report directly to Cabinet. Once the report has been agreed by Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee, it will be referred to Cabinet, as required by the NoM resolution.

2. Status

2.1 The Task & Finish Group is an informal group that will report to Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

3. Areas of focus

3.1 The report will focus on the following areas:

· To better understand the scale of Short Term Lets within the city and their impacts, both positive and negative, on the local community and economy.

· To explore ways to manage and regulate Short Term Lets that fall within the power of the Council

· To explore potential powers and what future work might be required to ensure STL can be effectively managed.

· To outline how the Council can work with the tourism industry to promote sustainable visitor accommodation provision, including via the Greater Brighton Economic Board.

· To explore avenues that could support the adoption of a registration scheme for short-term rental provision, as is set out in the Levelling up and Regeneration Act 2023.

· To consider improved regulation of safety standards in STLs.

4. Scope

4.1 To produce a report on the recent rapid growth in short-term lets within the city and prepare  an options paper of policy recommendations which will mitigate their impact on the local community alongside outlining what the Council can do to prepare for additional planning powers.

4.2 For the purposes of this report, STLs are defined as properties used exclusively as short term lets. This excludes some properties that are used mostly as permanent residences, but where a room may be rented out; properties used as permanent residences for most of the year, but rented out over the summer etc.

5. Membership

5.1 Voting Members: Groups will be given the offered membership as follows: 3 Labour, 1 Green, 1 Conservative, 1 Independent.

5.2 Non-voting members: Place and/or People co-opted members with an interest in this issue.

5.3 Any non-executive member may sit on a Task & Finish group.

6.  Meetings

6.1 Meetings will be chaired by the Chair of Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee who will be responsible for convening meetings of the Task & Finish Group

6.2 The Group will meet on a basis to be determined by Group members.

7. Timeline

7.1 The Task & Finish Group report on STLs will be presented to Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee at its March 2025 meeting.