“Key boxes are appearing in certain locations where a key could be collected, and then party houses developing, or even worse”
Concerns are growing about the proliferation of lockboxes spreading away from private homes and businesses to public streets and across the city landscape(Image: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/Shutterstock)
Belfast City Council is to look at banning lockboxes being installed away from host properties, in a bid to curb short term let “party houses” and visual clutter.
Key boxes, often called key safes or lockboxes, are secure, weather-resistant metal boxes mounted to the exterior of a property to store a spare key. They are popular among the elderly and disabled across Northern Ireland, allowing carers and healthcare workers to safely enter the home.
However concerns are growing about the proliferation of lockboxes spreading away from private homes and businesses to public streets and across the city landscape.
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Particular focus is being drawn to short-let holiday apartments across the city, like those in the Queen’s University area, that utilize self-check-in lockboxes away from their properties. Worries are also growing about the boxes providing access for potential “party houses” in residential streets.
At the June meeting of the council’s People and Communities Committee, elected representatives unanimously approved a Sinn Féin motion calling on the council to introduce a policy prohibiting lockboxes from being installed on any property, wall, railing, fence, or street furniture other than the dwelling to which they relate.
The motion states: “This measure is needed because the proliferation of lockboxes in areas in Belfast, particularly the inner city with high concentrations of short-term holiday lets, is causing visual clutter and environmental harm, while also diminishing the amenity of residential streets and shared spaces. The council should ensure that any breach is subject to enforcement action and removal.
“This approach is consistent with action already taken by other councils and city authorities to restrict or remove external key boxes associated with short-term holiday lets.”
Despite cross party support for the motion, the DUP have questioned the legality of the motion. The decision will go to the full council meeting next week for ratification.
Short-term let accommodation refers to residences where property owners rent out rooms for a short period, from one night to a few months, rather than for permanent residence. Platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo list these types of rentals, which they argue offers visitors more choice and a different experience from traditional hotels.
Belfast councillors from a variety of political parties have warned that communities all over the city could soon face a housing crisis caused by short-term lets, similar to the crisis caused by HMOs in areas such as the Holylands. Councillors argue short-term lets face much less regulation than HMOs, and create an even greater threat in terms of antisocial behaviour and residential transience.
At the People and Communities Committee meeting this week, Sinn Féin Councillor Micheal Donnelly spoke on behalf of his party colleague Councillor Conor McKay, who forwarded the motion. Councillor Donnelly said: “These key boxes are turning up in all sorts of locations. We have no issue with key boxes being on the site of a home or a property, and they are a useful and effective tool. They do serve a purpose.
“The concern (we) put forward is how it looks, and what the potential risks are associated with it, for example, key boxes appearing in certain locations where a key could be collected, and then party houses developing, or even worse. We are asking they are not allowed to be scattered all over south Belfast, or any other part of the city.”
SDLP Councillor Gary McKeown said: “The motion makes sense, but I have concern it barely scratches the surface of the problems that we are dealing with in this city. Namely, the avalanche of short-term lets, in particular those that don’t have the appropriate approvals in place, and the fact that there isn’t a system in place to provide appropriate approvals.”
He said: “As far as I can see nothing is happening. At the minute our planning enforcement team have over 400 enforcement investigations in short-term let accommodations, of which more than 20 are currently subject to retrospective planning applications.
“That is just dealing with the planning element of it. There is nothing there around how we shape communities, how we protect them, how we put a cap on the number of short term lets.
“We have seen the impact on the absence of planning around other types of accommodation. I have grave concerns that the impact of short term lets, without any type of appropriate management, will be devastating for this city.”
He said the motion was “like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic” but confirmed he would support it. He successfully proposed the council write to the Stormont Executive to “expedite a collaborative approach” to deal with the issue and put in place a proper regulatory system for short-term lets to “protect communities.”
DUP Councillor Ruth Brooks said: “The motion sounds sensible, but I am not sure it has been fully thought through, that is, if the council can only enforce this on its own property. I can already read the headlines on this, saying we are having a city-wide ban. We may not have the legal powers to deliver.
“I represent inner East Belfast, where we are having the same challenges with short-term lets in residential streets. Ordinary residents in my area are already having their homes mistaken for short-term lets.” She successfully proposed a councillor workshop for the Autumn on the problems created by short-term lets.
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