York Airbnb owners told: Follow these guidelines to keep your guests in line

York council has issued a new set of guidelines for holiday let owners – including advice on making sure their guests are considerate to neighbours.

The guidance comes in the wake of a slew of concerns about the impact of Airbnb lets in the city.

York Central MP Rachael Maskell has said that Airbnb ‘party houses’ were causing a ‘nightmare’ in some quiet residential streets.

She has introduced a bill to licence short-term and holiday-let accommodation. The government is also considering national regulation of holiday lets.

In the meantime, City of York Council has today published Guidance for owners of holiday lets.

Under a section, Managing your guests, it states:

• Holiday let owners are responsible for ensuring that their property does not cause any nuisance (including noise problems) to nearby residents.

• If regular noise problems do occur owners could be served with a Noise Abatement Notice by the council, requiring them to stop it happening again. If the notice is breached, they could be prosecuted or fined up to £20,000

• Let owners could consider collecting a ‘damage’ deposit that can be withheld in the event of any complaints in relation to noise, in addition to damage to the property itself

• Holiday home owners “should provide their contact details to all neighbours of the holiday let, so they can report any noise or anti-social behaviour to you. This should include a 24-hour contact telephone number, and we recommend that any such complaints are dealt with promptly and responsibly”

• Owners should provide guests with clear guidance and advice which should:
  • include rules to minimise anti-social behaviour and disruption to neighbours
  • make clear that playing music and making noise should be kept within reasonable limits, in particular after 11pm.

The council has also provided three posters which can be downloaded and displayed at the property, saying, ‘Let’s be respectful’, ‘Let’s be considerate’ and ‘Let’s remember our neighbours’.

Cllr Denise Craghill, executive member for housing and safer communities, said: “This guidance is aimed at providing clarity to the sector and to anyone considering opening a new holiday let.

“Whilst the Government is currently considering national regulation of holiday lets, we are very mindful of the impact they can have on local residents and neighbourhoods and we are doing what we can locally to support residents.

“The guide will help to ensure that anyone considering or running such a business is aware of their responsibilities.”

The guidance comes as the proportion of visitors staying in York’s self-catering accommodation has risen from six percent in 2016, to 19 percent in 2022.

Last year, Ms Maskell said there were 2,000 Airbnbs in York, and the number was expected to grown rapidly.

As well as trying to reduce anti-social behaviour, the council’s guidance covers a range of landlord responsibilities, including:

• Whether to seek planning permission
• Whether the landlord pays business rates
• How to keep guests safe in the property
• How to safely and appropriately dispose of waste.

You can read the guidelines here.