Recently we saw a land mark court ruling allowing Airbnb to share details with the Royal Kensington and Chelsea local authority, enabling them to use this intel to crack down on housing tenancy fraud.
A positive move and one that we welcome but surely this is just the start.
We work with a variety of local authorities and housing associations and often come across this type of housing tenancy fraud.
Only a few weeks ago one of the team was following up on allegations that had been made about potential short term lets and early morning visits were carried out at four addresses in London.
- The first visit proved to be a nonstarter as there was no answer.
- The second visit was a little more successful when the person who came to the door, although not very cooperative at first, confirmed that they had booked the flat through AirBnB.
- The third visit was for a ground floor flat, where it was possible to see that there were lights on in the property, however after ringing the doorbell and knocking on the door there was no response.
- At the fourth property initially, we were told by the tenant that we were at the wrong address and denied access. However, following a brief conversation with a second occupant and a reminder of the seriousness of housing tenancy fraud we were able to obtain a copy of the Airbnb booking, despite the occupant refusing to give any further information or a statement.
So, whilst investigating four properties in one morning, two turned out to be unlawfully sublet via Airbnb.
On further investigation of property two it transpired that the tenant of the property, who was subletting it, was already known to the team at HTFI. He was investigated several years earlier for another housing association when the team unearthed that he had been living abroad for 8 years, whilst subletting his flat.
What is even more shocking is that the fourth property listed on Airbnb was booked solidly for several weeks and was also listed on at least six other accommodation sites.
These two cases with Airbnb listings are clearly lucrative businesses, based on what they are charging for them on a weekly basis, and we will ensure that they end abruptly!
So, yes, we welcome this latest ruling, and we are encouraged that this will be the start of many more rulings for other local authorities, and housing associations, as this is a growing concern.
We will of course continue to investigate both the first and third properties that we visited as we never give up.
To find out more about how we can help your local authority or housing association visit our website.
