Complaint on Airbnb Home on Johnston Street

“It is widely acknowledged that people’s behaviour on holidays can be very different from their usual behaviour in their own home and normal working routines,” a council staff report at the December 15 meeting said.

The home had been used for Airbnb stays since before October, when the council received a complaint about its short-term rental without the owner being at the property.

After the owner was told to apply for change of use, the council received replies from four objecting neighbours.

They said the house was noisy and that five bedrooms allowed too many people to stay.

The council’s former and new town planning schemes both do not allow short-term accommodation of the type provided by Airbnb.

Staff said in recognising the needs of short-term rentals, most councils’ planning rules separated rentals from residential homes.

Councillors decided to defer a decision on the Johnston Street home until February.