Advice has been circulated to Keswick’s holiday let owners in a bid to curb anti-social activities and neighbourhood disturbances in the town.
The document has been prepared based on issues that have been reported to the town council through its holiday let nuisance reporting scheme that has been operational for a couple of years.
The simple “reporting mechanism” was launched in September 2023 with complaints from people living next to unmanaged holiday lets being logged and used as evidence against the surge of family-run B&Bs becoming free-for-all holiday lets. The town council recognises that there is a particular issue in Keswick with larger properties managed remotely and that is why the reporting system was set up.
“People are being driven to despair or considering leaving their homes,” said a report to the May meeting of the town council.
The advice document points out that the owners of holiday lets are accountable for solving noise, disturbance and nuisance behaviour caused by the occupants of their accommodation business.
“It’s not the neighbour’s job to manage the situation and provide updates to the owner or their managing agents on the latest antics in their property,” says the advice.
The report to councillors says that noise in holiday lets can be managed and among the actions that work well are the following:
- Updating the property listing and being very explicit that the house is in a residential area and quiet hours are strictly enforced between 10pm and 7am;
- Change the marketing to appeal to families and intergenerational groups;
- Explicitly rule out hen/stag/party groups;
- Avoid hot tubs which are a source of major conflict with neighbours.
The advice adds that people who persist in keeping the neighbours up all night after being asked to quieten down should be asked to leave the next day. This can be put in the terms and conditions for the booking.
Clear communication is important, says the document, with property owners needing to provide neighbours with a named contact and phone number which needs to be answered by someone immediately with a clear plan of what they will do to stop the noise or disturbance. It suggests a notice on the front of the property which indicates who manages it and how they can be contacted.
All anti-social behaviour incidents should be reported to the police on the 101 number or by emailing [email protected] and also report to Keswick Town Council at: [email protected] who will follow up with the authorities on behalf of neighbours.
