REACTIONARY SOCIAL FASCISM
UK Landlords to get power to evict antisocial tenants with two weeks’ notice
Private tenancy agreements in England and Wales will have to include clauses that specifically ban antisocial behaviour
Nadeem Badshah
THEGUARDIAN
Mon 27 Mar 2023
Landlords are to be given new powers to evict problematic tenants with two weeks’ notice under government proposals to address antisocial behaviour.
The measures would cover tenants who play loud music, use drugs, cause damage to their property or fall behind on their rent.
All new private tenancy agreements will have to include clauses that specifically ban antisocial behaviour – and the notice period for eviction on these grounds will be cut from four weeks to a fortnight.
Rishi Sunak’s action plan also requires homeowners who rent out their properties on the Airbnb website to register on a new database that will make it easier for local councils to deal with complaints about problematic guests.
It comes amid concerns about the potential for Airbnb guests to cause trouble for quiet or residential 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 their areas.
If any short-term rental property proved “problematic”, local officials could take action against guests and owners.
Sunak was questioned on the issue of Airbnb guests causing a nuisance to local residents at an event in Chelmsford in Essex on Monday.
“Let me take that away. I’ve got a feeling we are looking at that, from memory,” he said.
Jeff Jones told the prime minister that his former pub had been turned into a large rental in the suburb of Great Baddow.
“These places are let by the owners to groups of people with no control whatsoever,” he said. “They can come in and they can use the facilities there – in this particular case they have 10-person hot tubs and karaoke rooms. Antisocial behaviour and especially noise nuisance can go on through the night and there is no restriction.”
Sunak said he recognised that disruptive Airbnb guests were “enormously frustrating” for neighbours.
An Airbnb spokesperson 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.”
Earlier this month, the communities secretary, Michael Gove, 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.
Elsewhere, the government promised to target the practice of cuckooing, where the home of a vulnerable person is taken over and used for illegal activity, with plans to make it a new criminal offence.
The government also announced that users of nitrous oxide, known as laughing gas, will face up to two years in jail and the substance will be categorised as a class C drug by the end of the year.
On-the-spot fines for littering and graffiti will more than treble to £500 and penalties for fly-tipping will more than double to £1,000.
As reported over the weekend, offenders will be forced to wear jumpsuits or high-visibility jackets while carrying out “community payback” within 48 hours of being caught, and members of the public will be given a greater say on how antisocial behaviour offenders are punished.
Landlords are to be given new powers to evict problematic tenants with two weeks’ notice under government proposals to address antisocial behaviour.
The measures would cover tenants who play loud music, use drugs, cause damage to their property or fall behind on their rent.
All new private tenancy agreements will have to include clauses that specifically ban antisocial behaviour – and the notice period for eviction on these grounds will be cut from four weeks to a fortnight.
Rishi Sunak’s action plan also requires homeowners who rent out their properties on the Airbnb website to register on a new database that will make it easier for local councils to deal with complaints about problematic guests.
It comes amid concerns about the potential for Airbnb guests to cause trouble for quiet or residential 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 their areas.
If any short-term rental property proved “problematic”, local officials could take action against guests and owners.
Sunak was questioned on the issue of Airbnb guests causing a nuisance to local residents at an event in Chelmsford in Essex on Monday.
“Let me take that away. I’ve got a feeling we are looking at that, from memory,” he said.
Jeff Jones told the prime minister that his former pub had been turned into a large rental in the suburb of Great Baddow.
“These places are let by the owners to groups of people with no control whatsoever,” he said. “They can come in and they can use the facilities there – in this particular case they have 10-person hot tubs and karaoke rooms. Antisocial behaviour and especially noise nuisance can go on through the night and there is no restriction.”
Sunak said he recognised that disruptive Airbnb guests were “enormously frustrating” for neighbours.
An Airbnb spokesperson 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.”
Earlier this month, the communities secretary, Michael Gove, 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.
Elsewhere, the government promised to target the practice of cuckooing, where the home of a vulnerable person is taken over and used for illegal activity, with plans to make it a new criminal offence.
The government also announced that users of nitrous oxide, known as laughing gas, will face up to two years in jail and the substance will be categorised as a class C drug by the end of the year.
On-the-spot fines for littering and graffiti will more than treble to £500 and penalties for fly-tipping will more than double to £1,000.
As reported over the weekend, offenders will be forced to wear jumpsuits or high-visibility jackets while carrying out “community payback” within 48 hours of being caught, and members of the public will be given a greater say on how antisocial behaviour offenders are punished.
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