Southend Airbnb owners ordered to stop using home for short-term lets

Neighbours living close to the property in Christchurch Road, Southend, complained to the council over noise and groups of people regularly coming and going from the property.

An investigation by Southend Council found the home was being used for short-term lets and was listed on the Airbnb website.

Southend’s development control committee met on Wednesday and unanimously supported action to force the owners to stop short-term lets in the property.

Matt Dent, Labour councillor for Kursaal Ward, said: “This property has been a running sore in my ward and for neighbours for some time now.

“There’s been substantial disruption in terms of noise, parking problems and general disruption in the lives of neighbours trying to live on this road.

“I’m really pleased to see the enforcement notice coming through. It’s long overdue. I know we’ve had to wait for the process to play out but the lack of cooperation from the owners and general lack of respect shown to neighbours from this just goes to show some of the problems with dumping short-term lets in a residential area.”

The owners of the property will be given three months to remove the short-term lets and restore the property to a single dwelling.

Mr Dent added: “I ask the committee wholeheartedly to endorse this action.

“It’s what the residents want to see. It’s what needs to happen and I hope that it will be actioned very swiftly.”

In a report to the committee, planning officers said: “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.”