York MP blames parties and drugs for neighbours unrest
Although the weekend is a welcomed period for many, individuals who live next to holiday lets claim it’s the worst time of the week.
‘I’ve got horror stories from my constituents,’ said York MP Rachael Maskell. ‘The nightmare starts every Friday evening when they hear the wheelie suitcases coming up the road.’
Recently, blaring events such as stag and hen dos, house parties and even pop-up brothels – that are being hosted in airbnbs – have caused major problems for people all across England. The issues have led to calls for new laws to license holiday let landlords, as well as a cap on the number of people who can stay in them.
The issues are affecting people from Keswick to Cornwall, with MP Rachael Maskell commenting things have escalated in York.
Speaking about the problems on Thursday at a Westminster Hall debate, she said: ‘In York we’ve had pop-up brothels and drug dens, but when one landlord was challenged, he just basically shrugged his shoulders and walked off.
‘There are big parties like stag and hen dos happening next door to family and older people’s terraced homes, so residents are constantly on edge and miserable because every weekend it starts again.
‘On some streets there are four or five short-term lets and people feel they can’t escape it – some are locking themselves in their houses because they don’t feel safe, and others have moved away because they can’t take it anymore.’
In an attempt to address the crisis, Ms Maskell said she has already drafted a Private Members Bill in 2022, which could be adopted by the new Labour government. However, the MP for Cities of London and Westminster and this would give police and councils the power to prosecute, adding ‘I simply do not believe that that would be overly onerous.’
Meanwhile, dozens of Labour MPs spoke in support of regulation, including Rachael Blake, calling for a ‘compulsory registration scheme’ which would see licenses for holiday homes given to ‘a named, verified and accountable individual’.
Likewise, Ms Blake said there’s an opportunity for a licensing scheme to be included within the English Devolution Bill. This would follow a policy implemented in Scotland for short-term lets that tackles anti-social behaviour.
According to a House of Commons report, In England there currently isn’t a single source of data that shows how many holiday lets there are in the country, but Airbnb has been regarded as the ‘market leader’ as it has hundreds of thousands of holiday lets on its website.
Though the site was launched as a way to make some additional income from a spare room, a spokesperson for the company has also been calling for a national register.
‘Airbnb was the first platform to help enforce home sharing rules in London, and we have called on the government to introduce a national host registration system across England,’ they said. ‘We have zero tolerance for illegal activity and parties, which are banned on Airbnb, and we take action on matters brought to our attention.’
Image: Jacob Bentzinger
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