A leading councillor has accused Airbnb of being ‘a bit wild west’ when it comes to regulation.
Councillor Virginia Taylor said there was no protection for local people when issues such as loud music and drunken behaviour from holidaymakers arose.
Cllr Taylor, cabinet member for sustainable communities and localities for Westmorland and Furness Council, was commenting on figures from AirDNA that showed the number of available Lake District listings on Airbnb and Vrbo – which offers a similar service – increased from 5,619 in July 2021 to 8,185 in July 2022. The 2021 figure was down from 6,917 in 2020.
Cllr Taylor said Airbnb needed to be brought into a system to allow it to be managed more closely and also commented on the impact the website had on the housing market.
“Second homes and Airbnbs are taking up actual properties in desirable locations, as it were, which otherwise might be available for young people and families starting out,” she said.
“It’s taking already scarce accommodation away from local people which has a knock-on effect for jobs, which has a knock-on effect for schools.”
Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron said the rise in Airbnb accommodation in the Lakes was leading to ‘people and families being evicted from their homes’.
“Of course having more holiday accommodation can benefit our local tourism economy – but it has got to the point where there is now simply not enough places for people working in that sector to actually live,” he said.
“That’s why I will keep pushing the Government to change planning law to give local authorities like the Lake District National Park Authority or Westmorland and Furness Council the power to put a limit on the number of new Airbnbs and second homes in our area.”
An action plan published by the Government last month promised to create a new registration scheme that would provide councils with the data to identify short-term lets. If any short-term rental property proved ‘problematic’, local officials could take action against guests and owners.
