A RESIDENT said action must be taken to stop his neighbourhood turning into a “holiday camp”.

Chris Hayes, who lives in the North Laine in Brighton, said the area is becoming dominated by Airbnb holiday-makers.

The 55-year-old, whose home is sandwiched between two Airbnb properties, said: “It started about two years ago when people began turning their houses into Airbnbs.

“It’s just silly now. The road I live in has 29 houses, and five are now permanent Airbnb holiday lets.

“Large groups come down on holiday – often young people or people on their stag and hen do parties.

“Deliberately or not, they are showing no respect to neighbours and the people who actually live here.

“It’s extremely annoying, to say the least.”

Mr Hayes said the number of people staying in the properties is higher than it should be because guests can let themselves in.

He said: “I live in a very small, two-up two-down cottage.

“The houses in this street have the capacity for about six people, but what happens is you get large groups coming down.

“They choose Airbnb because it makes it cheap and lots of them just sleep on the floor.

“No-one checks the number of people and when they arrive they collect the key themselves, so it could be two people or 20.”

Mr Hayes, who did not want to specify his street address, said guests cause disturbances at all times of the day and night in the summer, and he believes regulation is needed to tackle the issue.

He said: “Smokers will stand outside having loud conversations and leaving cigarette butts everywhere. People also bring noisy dogs to properties, even when they say ‘no pets’.

“I’ve contacted the managing agent about this problem before, and they have tried to blame me for having a cat.

“As the council no longer has a noise abatement officer, you’ve got the choice of calling the police, who are rather busy on a Saturday night, or confronting a bunch of drunk 20-year-olds yourself, which inevitably leads to confrontation.

“There’s no-one to contact as the managing agent doesn’t have an on-call number, and most of the property owners live abroad.

“Then in the winter we are seeing more antisocial behaviour in the area as so many of the properties are empty.”

Kelly Scales, founder of Brighton Airbnb managing agent Airhost For You, said: “Holiday letting via numerous platforms, including Airbnb, is – and always has been - a vital part of Brighton’s economy.

“Airbnb makes more properties available to more people, meeting today’s demand for flexible accommodation.

“Airhost For You manage a number of beautiful Brighton properties and have successfully looked after tens of thousands of visitors, driving millions of pounds directly into the local economy.

“We have some great neighbour relationships too and are always here to assist with any legitimate issues that may arise.”

According to the short term rental data website AirDNA, there are 3,445 active rental properties in Brighton and Hove, and 85 per cent of these are listed on Airbnb.

The tourism, equalities, communities and culture committee at Brighton and Hove City Council are set to discuss the regulation of short term holiday lets at a meeting on March 5.