The fraudulent use of residential parking permits by holiday let owners is growing in York, councillors have said.
Labour’s Cllr Jane Burton said the use of residents’ parking permits (ResPark) by holiday let owners was increasingly becoming a problem in her Micklegate ward.
Cllr Dave Merrett, Labour ward member for Guildhall, said the misuse of permits risked undermining the credibility of the system in the eyes of residents.
Max Thomas, chief executive of Veritau which works with City of York Council on countering fraud, said they were both attempting to tackle the misuse of ResPark and Blue Badges.
The comments came as part of an update to the council’s audit and governance committee on counter-fraud measures undertaken in York in the year up to March.
Parking fraud accounted for one per cent of the £245,000 saved due to the measures during the last financial year from a total of 428 referrals.
A Veritau report stated 20 investigations into parking fraud took place in 2024-5, with two people cautioned to avoid prosecution and six receiving warnings.
Three investigations related to the misuse of ResPark permits and one holiday let owner had theirs removed.
The report stated that the misuse of Blue Badges remains an issue in York, with two days of action against it undertaken in May and December last year.
Micklegate’s Cllr Burton said an increasing number of residents had been contacting her about holiday lets using ResPark permits.
The Labour councillor said: “It’s probably quite widespread because people may not know it’s fraud.
“It’s becoming a bigger problem in some streets and when residents call the council and enforcement teams don’t come out it might put them off calling again.”
Mr Thomas said dealing with parking offences was ultimately the responsibility of council enforcement teams but Veritau would get involved in cases of serious and persistent issues.
He added Veritau and the council would continue to publicise it uncovering the misuse of Blue Badges to show it was taking the issue seriously.
Mr Thomas said: “If it’s a case of a Blue Badge or permit being used by someone other than the holder or if they’re using a fake Blue Badge then we can support the council in taking action and have taken action against business-related parking fraud.”