There has been an exponential increase in the number of Short Term Holiday Lets (STHLs) in York in the past five years:

• Estimates suggest one in ten properties in the centre of York are holiday lets.
• Over 2000 properties in the city are now STHLs, in the region of 2-3% of all York properties.

Numbers are too high and unacceptable when they cause problems for residents and there is pressure on the availability of housing.

STHLs tend to be located in residential areas and residents in those areas experience problems caused by the way these properties are used and the activities of those staying in them, and there are other consequences:

• Noise and disruption caused by those staying for brief periods of time coming and going more frequently than residents and at different times of day, particularly returning late at night to their accommodation.
• Gardens are used for loud gatherings that disturb neighbours and mean residents can’t use their own gardens.
• Larger properties attract large groups that turn into ‘party houses’ exacerbating the anti-social behaviour.
• Extra waste is generated which isn’t always managed properly leaving bins overflowing.
• Extra strains on parking and residents not being able to find space for cars close to their homes.
• Residents are becoming more isolated through concentrations of STHL properties in certain streets and areas, they have fewer neighbours and are less connected in their community.
• For the worse, the character and identity of communities are being changed and ‘hollowed out’.
• Less housing is available to long term residents and families when there is already a shortage, pushing up prices to rent or own to even further, unaffordable levels.

Visitors are important to the city’s local economy but these types of self-catering accommodation are in the wrong place when they are located in residential streets.

Currently, there is no regulation of STHLs in place that enables councils and local authorities to protect residents and communities through the control of numbers of STHLs, where they are located, and from ones causing problems. Therefore, 

• We welcome York Central MP Rachael Maskell’s Private Members Bill being brought to Parliament in June on this important issue,
• And we call for central government to give local authorities more controls over the management of Short Term Holiday Let accommodation, and the powers to limit numbers and density.

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