CRACKDOWN ON NUISANCE AIRBNB ‘PARTY HOUSES’

RISHI Sunak yesterday vowed to crack down on nuisance staycation ‘party houses’.

As part of a major offensive against yobs, he announced a new registration scheme for holiday lets such as Airbnbs.

The Government intends to stop shortterm accommodation ‘importing anti-social behaviour’ into neighbourhoods.

‘We will do this by setting up a new registration scheme giving local authorities the data to easily identify short-term lets in their area,’ it said. ‘If a let proves problematic, they can take action against guests and owners.’

The Government said it would publish a consultation on the scheme shortly.

Mr Sunak yesterday apologised to a 73-year-old man who said a pub in his Essex village had been turned into a holiday let, with loud music, boozy parties and swearing deep into the night. The PM said it was ‘common courtesy and decency’ that people ‘should not be having incredibly noisy parties at 3am’.

Stressing the importance of ‘strong communities built on values’, Mr Sunak insisted that anti- social behaviour was ‘not the type of country we are and that is why it is important we do something about it’.

Under his action plan, drug testing of criminals will be more prevalent, on-the-spot fines for graffiti and fly-tipping will be increased and more money will be ploughed into youth

centres in a bid to improve neighbourhoods. Proposals for ‘immediate justice’ will aim to make perpetrators repair and clean up their mess and damage within 48 hours of being handed community orders.

Offenders will be made to wear high-vis vests or jumpsuits and work under supervision while picking up litter, removing graffiti and even washing police cars.

Victims of anti-social behaviour will be given a say in how criminals are disciplined to ensure justice is visible and fits the crime, according to the Department for Levelling Up.

And in what is being called ‘hotspot policing’, some areas will trial the deployment of extra patrols.

Mr Sunak told Jeff Jones, who made the complaint about the former Essex pub: ‘I am sorry you’re having to deal with that.’

Mr Jones, who spent half a century working in the music industry, said afterward: ‘I’m glad Mr Sunak is taking this seriously. It’s a massive problem across the country.’

He said Great Baddow had been blighted since the village’s Kings Head was converted to allow large group bookings. He added: ‘The peo

‘Massive problem across the country’

ple renting it turn up, they bring as much booze as they want and then they party for two or three days.

‘It’s dreadful. We have complained to environmental health but they have to get officers to witness our complaints first hand.

‘There’s always swearing, amplified music, and it’s even worse in the summer because they are in the garden from the afternoon until the early hours.’ Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove this month announced plans to bring in laws aimed at restricting the growth of Airbnb holiday homes in beauty spots.

He warned of a ‘ problem’ with owners turning properties into short-term lets in tourist areas, hindering the ability of young workers to find a place to live.

residents in hotspots such as Cornwall and the Peak District have also complained that short-term private holiday lets have had a significantly detrimental impact on their communities, with second homes lying vacant for much of the year. Analysis has suggested one in every four homes is used for Airbnb in some parts of England.

Airbnb has soared in popularity since homeowners first started renting out their properties with the online service in around 2009.

It has coincided with a boom in the domestic travel industry, with holidaymakers opting to stay in the UK.

But there have also been occasions where renters have held parties, in contravention of Airbnb policies.

In 2017, Greater Manchester Police were called when dozens of young people descended on a suburban semi-detached home in Droylsden advertised at just £50 a night. And more than 50 Met police officers were needed to shut down a 150-strong gathering at an Airbnb property in London in 2020, in contravention of coronavirus curbs.

Earlier this month, a university couple were fined for breaching lockdown rules after hosting a birthday party that led to a £2million Airbnb Sandbanks mansion being trashed in March 2021.

There were reports of drug paraphernalia and laughing gas canisters being left behind. The property’s owner, businessman Nick Briant, told the court it cost ‘about £1,000 of deep cleaning, cleaning carpets and repainting walls’ to fix the damage. An Airbnb spokesman said: ‘Parties are banned on Airbnb and our industry-leading prevention technology blocked more than 84,000 people in the UK from making certain unwanted bookings last year.

‘Our 24/7 hotline for neighbours means anyone can contact us directly about a concern with a listing and we investigate and take action.

‘We are committed to being good partners to local communities in the UK, and have long supported the introduction of a national short-term lets register to give authorities better visibility of activity in their area.’