She made the comments during a Parliamentary debate on second homes and holiday lets and said the problems are not just confined to rural areas.
The York Central MP said: “York is no different from rural areas; it is not about location but housing tenure and use, not least for a holiday destination.
“York has residential streets full of holiday lets, fragmenting communities in areas where second homes have a prevalence. We have new developments that are increasingly attractive to investors but unaffordable for local people.
“That includes the 2,500-unit York Central development, which even Homes England recognises could be dominated by second homes and holiday lets — it is now being dubbed ‘Airbnb Central’. The wrong kind of housing is being developed; the site should be about public land being used for public good.”
She said York’s broader housing market has seen a 14 per cent increase in average property price in the year to August – driven in part by the second home market.
“Family homes are being snapped up as holiday lets or second homes, and it is more lucrative to convert student lets to holiday lets, so we now have a problem with student accommodation. York’s superb connectivity and new ways of working mean that the opportunity to own a second home in York has become even more attractive to weekly commuters.”
Ms Maskell added: “Developers are building units for investors, not to meet local need. They are perfect for short-term breaks but hopeless for local families, even though family homes constitute 80 per cent of those needed.
That is why the numbers game just does not work and the planning system does not deliver. It is a false economy: housing units are getting ticked off but housing need is not being addressed. It is a developer’s dream, as they can name their price, but a local person’s nightmare, as they are pushed away from our city.”
She called for a second homes register to be introduced, alongside a council tax levy on holiday lets as well as limiting the amount of time holiday homes can be let for.
“We don’t just want an exclusive development with lots of Airbnbs, we want a great, different population that has all the different sectors involved.”
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