An Air BnB landlord faces a £700 bill because he used domestic household waste facilities to dispose of his rubbish.

City of York Council prosecuted Neil Cook on the grounds he should have used business waste facilities to dispose of items left behind by tenants at his three properties.

Sarah Owen, for the council, said: “Effectively he has not been paying for commercial waste collection for the last three years.”

Cook, 46, of Nunmill Street, South Bank, York, pleaded guilty to carrying waste in the course of a business without registering between October 16, 2020 and September 7, 2021.

His solicitor Jeremy Scott said: “He took a couple of bags of rubbish and took them to the household recycling depot. He thought he was doing the right thing. It was on a small number of occasions.”

York magistrates fined Cook £466 and ordered him to pay a £47 statutory surcharge and £200 prosecution costs.

Ms Owen said Cook had three properties that he used for holiday lets and the council told him in November 2020 he needed a commercial waste licence for them.

But he didn’t get one.

Mr Scott said he took his responsibilities seriously and was remorseful. He now had a commercial waste contract and was doing everything correctly.