A local authority has taken the unusual step of order a home owner to stop short-letting their property, claiming its use by Airbnb customers is “contrary to the national planning policy.”

An investigation into the property was conducted by Southend Council following complaints from neighbours who alleged problems with noise and large numbers of visitors. 

The council’s development control committee has now backed an officer report forcing the owner to stop short-term lets in the property; a councillor on the committee claimed a lack of cooperation from the property owner when contacted by the authority.

In the report to the committee, planning officers wrote: “The development is not appropriately located for the purposes of providing visitor accommodation and the use of the property for visitor accommodation and as a short-term let reduces the provision of valuable residential resources, to the detriment of the quantity and quality of the city’s housing stock against the background of a demonstrable un-met strategic housing need. The development is therefore unacceptable and contrary to the national planning policy.”