Concern over number of Airbnb "party houses" in York
The City's MP says investors are snapping up homes and pricing local families out
Last updated 28th Jun 2022
Some people in York say they don't feel safe in their own home because of the number of Airbnbs being used as "party houses" in the City.
There are now over 1,700 short term lets available with many booked up by stag and hen groups.
York Central MP Rachel Maskell says it means families being kept awake by all night parties.
Speaking in a debate in parliament she said: “In the city centre, we often find streets—family streets—where there are five or six Airbnbs, and it is having a serious impact.”
Ms Maskell said one property in a cul-de-sac in The Groves area was being advertised for 30 people
“It is at the end of a family residential street, and people in my community have told me that the noise goes on all night”.
“People do not feel safe in their own home anymore. I heard from one family who put their house on the market and moved out of the city, which was the only way they could escape the party houses that were increasingly in their area.”
She is campaigning for a change in the law which would mean owners would have to apply for a license to turn a domestic property into short-term and holiday-let accommodation, giving local authorities the power to issue fines and to remove licences.