End to Airbnb party houses imminent to give people living nearby some peace

Airbnb owners and guests could soon be facing sanctions if they use rental properties to throw parties as part of a new government drive to stamp out anti-social behaviour.

The move comes as part of an action plan published by the Government on Monday which aims to stop short-term lets ‘importing anti-social behaviour into communities’.

Referencing noise problems, drunken behaviour and disorderly conduct, the plan promises the creation of a new registration scheme that would provide councils with the data to identify short-term lets in the local area.

If any short-term rental property proved ‘problematic’, local officials could take action against those deemed responsible.

Rishi Sunak was quizzed on the issue at an event in Essex on Monday morning, where he fielded a question from a Chelmsford resident who told the prime minister he is facing problems after his former local pub was turned into a large Airbnb rental.

He said: ‘These places are let by the owners to groups of people with no control whatsoever.

‘They can come in and they can use the facilities there – in this particular case they have 10-person hot tubs and karaoke rooms.

‘Anti-social behaviour and especially noise nuisance can go on through the night and there is no restriction, and I think they really should be addressing the problem these are causing with maybe some regulations coming in.’

Mr Sunak replied: ‘Let me take that away. I’ve got a feeling we are looking at that, from memory,’ he said.

Home secretary Suella Braverman joined the prime minister on his visit to the Essex town, where they were both heckled and told to ‘go away’ during a short walkabout in the town centre.

One woman shouted ‘allow migrants into our country’ and ‘refugees should be allowed in Britain’. The woman added: ‘Go away. We don’t want you here.’

Elsewhere, the Government also promised to target the ‘awful’ practice of cuckooing, with plans to make it a new criminal offence.

Cuckooing, where the home of a vulnerable person is taken over and used for illegal activity, has a ‘serious impact’ on victims while also having a detrimental effect on local communities.

Other proposals in the government’s £160 million crackdown on anti-social behaviour include plans to criminalise drinking at bus stops and war memorials, along with plans to ban nitrous oxide by reclassifying it as a Class-C drug.

The plans will also see fly-tippers and graffiti punished with fines of up to £1,000, and drug tests carried out in an effort to see offences rapidly and publicly punished.

Those caught breaking the rules will be forced to don jumpsuits and made to clean up the streets within 48 hours instead of going to court as part of what the prime minister labelled ‘immediate justice’.

Mr Sunak also vowed to take action against begging networks run by organised crime, with police gaining extra powers to move on rough sleepers who are deemed to be causing ‘public distress’, which could include blocking shop doorways and asking for money at cashpoints.

Also included in the scheme are plans to allow landlords to evict tenants who are disruptive to neighbours, cause damage or fall behind on their rent within two weeks.

Communities Secretary Michael Gove earlier this month expressed concerns about the impact of short-term letting on local areas, promising to make changes aimed at restricting ‘the way that homes can be turned into Airbnbs’, amid concerns about problems with holiday lets preventing younger workers from living and finding a job near to home.

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 alone.

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

‘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.’

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