York is an incredible city with a long history and cultural history. It has for centuries drawn pilgrims and tourists and students alike. Yet this wave of newfound popularity has raised serious concerns among longtime locals about what it means for the housing market. Rising house prices are quickly displacing local families. This should send serious warning signals about what the future city will look like.
Residents are increasingly anxious about the development pressures threatening to overwhelm York’s unique, and comparatively affordable, housing market. Today Columbus is booming with new residents, visitors and students — a trend that’s invigorating the city’s economy. This influx is creating increasingly difficult challenges for local residents — and especially workers — to carry out their daily lives. Andrew Hay, a local resident, highlights the struggles faced by his two sons, both in their twenties, who work in York but are considering moving to the outskirts or even farther away to find affordable housing.
They ideally want to live in the city they work. They’d have to commute back to York, which defeats the purpose,” Hay explained. This deeply personal story highlights a growing reality in communities across the country that local residents are being priced out of their homes and neighborhoods.
Short-term rentals aren’t the sole instigator of these housing pressures, either. Other factors play a large role, too. I’d argue that the main problem is simply not building enough new homes fast enough to keep up with the rising population. Natasha Almond of Good Organisation argues that increasing house prices are a “massive challenge” for the city. Yet she highlights that tourism is the lifeblood of York’s economy. It has inflated property values, pushing homes out of the reach of many long-time residents.
People love it so much, they want a second home in the city. They see that opportunity to make a buck off holiday rentals,” Almond continued. She cautions that this set of circumstances has really tilted the scale. In turn, fewer properties are available to full-time residents and York is experiencing a growing crisis of homelessness.
The impacts of failing housing production are acute. If current trends continue, Andrew Hay predicts that “in 15 to 20 years’ time, local people won’t be living in York.” This situation presents profound questions about the city’s future identity and social fabric. Without those controls, locals could be forced out of their homes as they search for what’s available—but more affordable—housing further from the community.
As a response to this crisis, Good Organisation has called for the introduction of a “Fair BnB” system. This new initiative is in keeping with Airbnb’s original business model. It provides homeowners with a legitimate method to rent out spare rooms, and it protects the ability of local residents to access desperately needed housing. York central MP Rachael Maskell shows her strong support for this proposal. She elaborates, “The local authority would be given money to administer the scheme, and actual controls would be put in place.”
Maskell puts special focus on the importance of tourism to York’s economy. He encourages, “Tourism is huge. A huge chunk of our economy’s based on it. It creates jobs and it puts our amazing city on display to the world. She highlights the need to avoid being extreme. We can’t pretend that we don’t want tourism, but we have a duty to allow real local residents the ability to afford living in their hometown.
The proposal would align the economic benefits of tourism with the urgent need for housing. It seeks to arrive at a remedy that helps individual homeowners to reap the rewards without monopolizing the market. Almond continues, “They would still be making money and enjoying the benefits of tourism. They just wouldn’t be removing the whole house from the market. By enacting these kinds of measures, stakeholders intend to address some of the most urgent challenges confronting York’s housing market.
As these conversations move forward and the best ways to attack these challenges are debated, residents are excitedly keeping a lookout for what’s next for their city. Keeping up York’s charm as a tourism mecca is essential. Simultaneously, we need to make sure that all residents who want to call our city home can afford to do so.
