The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities announced councils will be given more powers to control holiday lets. 

MP Michael Gove confirmed during a visit to St Agnes on Thursday that local authorities like Cornwall Council will be given new powers to make people turning residential homes into holiday lets have to apply for planning permission in the communities most affected by them.  

A planning application will be needed for anyone renting out their main or sole home for more than 90 nights a year, and are intended to provide support in areas where short-term lets are preventing local people from renting or buying a home. 

A new mandatory national register will also provide local authorities with information about where short-term lets are operating, helping to support the planning process. 

The changes are aimed at limiting the number of short-term holiday lets following a successful campaign by the Cornish MPs for more regulation to help deal with the housing crisis. 

Video by Robert Taylor.