Bad landlords allowing raucous late-night stag and hen parties, pop-up brothels, and drug dens are causing misery for neighbours of short-term holiday lets across the UK, according to a group of MPs. They are calling for new laws to impose licensing on holiday let landlords and limit their numbers.
Rachael Maskell, MP for York, said, “The nightmare starts every Friday evening when they hear the wheelie suitcases coming up the road.” She proposes penalties for rogue landlords that could remove their operating license. A dozen Labour MPs spoke in support of regulation, with Rachel Blake calling for a “compulsory registration scheme” that would capture individual properties, with licenses given to “a named, verified, and accountable individual”.
MPs also said that the increase in short-term lets had distorted the housing market and “stripped out” communities. Airbnb is seen as the market leader for short-term lets in the UK and was referenced often. Truro and Falmouth MP Jayne Kirkham added that the private rental sector in Cornwall had all but collapsed due to soaring numbers of whole properties being rented out for holiday lets. Conservative housing spokesman David Simmonds supported a “light touch” register that would record the number of lets, while Labour MPs demand an enforceable licensing scheme.
The Scottish Government has introduced a licensing scheme for short-term lets, aimed at tackling antisocial behaviour and the housing crisis, in 2022. A spokeswoman for Airbnb said they had also been calling for a national register. “We have zero tolerance for illegal activity and parties, which are banned on Airbnb, and we take action on matters brought to our attention,” she said. However, the root cause of housing challenges in the UK is a lack of housing supply to meet demand, she added
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