21 October 2023 , 19:39
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Councillors are backing calls for more control over Airbnb and short-term lets due to concerns about parties and "pop up brothels" in Cambridge.
Critics say the university city is being overrun by stag weekends and hen parties which they put down to the number of short-term lets available. Councillor Karen Young, of Liberal Democrats, expressed her surprise at the number of issues she's encountered since being elected in May.
She said: "There is an enormous amount of stress for residents affecting their quality of life by the existence of short term letting in the city. People are residents for such a short time, they are not invested in being good neighbours and building good relations with those living next door, this means unrestrained behaviour, with parties, noise, and rudeness to neighbours."
Cambridge councillor Naomi Bennett, from the Green Party, has voiced her concerns about Airbnb conversions, calling them a "huge problem", CambridgeshireLive reports. She mentioned that even newly built properties, which the city council worked hard to construct, are now being rented out on Airbnb.
Councillor Bennett also highlighted the difficulties in tracing property owners when issues arise, such as houses being "let to a stag party or what appears to be a pop up brothel or worse".
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Councillor Katie Thornburrow (Labour) proposed a change to Cllr Young's motion. She said that the council had been working on the issue of short term lets for years and was the first outside London to win an appeal against a planning enforcement in 2019.
Cllr Thornburrow stated that the amendment would require councillors to continue their work on this issue and ask local MPs to support measures for better control of short term letting. Despite being disappointed by the changes, Cllr Young agreed that they all supported the "main thrust of the motion". The revised motion received unanimous support from all councillors.
A spokesperson for Airbnb said: "The typical Host on Airbnb shares their home for three nights a year and nearly four in ten say the extra income helps them afford their homes and rising living costs. We have not received any evidence linked to the councillor’s claims for us to investigate, but we have zero tolerance for antisocial behaviour, and parties are banned on Airbnb. Where we are made aware of concerns about a listing, we take action, which can include deactivation. We welcome regulation and support the government's ongoing work to introduce a host register."
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