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A charity worker has spoken out about the damaging impact of holiday rentals after her affordable housing block became swamped with holidaymakers.

The 35-year-old says at least three flats in her shared ownership block in Camden Town, north London, are being used like hotels - and the building is teeming with strangers as a result.

Meanwhile, police recently discovered a stash of crystal meth in a lift shaft and a taser gun above a ceiling tile in the block, which is beside the Regent's Canal in St Pancras Way.

She cannot link these incidents to holiday users, but they add to her growing worries about the constant flow of strangers.

She told the Standard: "Several flats are used - all year round - as holiday rentals via various websites.

"There is a stream of strangers and increased wear and tear on the communal areas and lift, increased noise and litter.

"It erodes the sense of community and residents feel resentful – we pay the service charges.

"The block was built to provide homes for people on low incomes who cannot afford to buy on the open market, rather than vehicles for profit.

"It seems very wrong that, with a critical shortage of affordable housing, flats built for this purpose could be used for holiday lettings."

The charity worker spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of angering her neighbours who are cashing in with the service.

Home rental websites enable flats to be rented for a few days at a time, at much higher rates than long-term lets.

They are used by thousands in London, despite the practice being technically illegal - at least until the government's Deregulation Bill becomes law, as is expected.

The Bill will remove rules meaning short-term lets need planning permission in London, which date back to the Greater London Council Act 1973.

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However, the practice is also against the rules of the charity worker's affordable housing block, which was built in 2009 by housing association Genesis.

A Genesis spokeswoman said: "Genesis takes its residents’ security and wellbeing extremely seriously, and our fraud and leasehold teams are working closely together to tackle what is a complex issue faced by housing associations nationwide.

"We are keeping residents informed of our progress and meeting regularly with the residents association, and have written to all leaseholders reminding them that subletting without prior permission is a breach of their agreement with us.

"In relation to the drugs which have been found on the premises, we have been liaising with the police and consulting with residents about installing extra CCTV in the block."