London 90 day letting regulation 2017

[Susi7]

Hi all,

So I've received the email today from AirBnB saying that listings will automatically be stopped after 90 days hosting due to the new regulation in 2017 for London. 

I rent my whole house out now and then when I'm away, and separate rooms when I am there. 

Do you know if the regulation applies to single lodging rooms (which would presumably fall under the Rent-A-Room scheme rather than whole home letting?).

Thanks!

Susi

[Daniel-and-Marsio0]

Hi Michael

Yes, the imposition of the 90-night ruling has definitely ruined my entire Airbnb 'business plan' / lifestyle. I was quite happily getting booked up far in advance (up to one year) with 'medium-term' bookings (1-4 months) with my entire property whilst I lived overseas, yes, living off the profit (why not?!, I pay my taxes!). As soon as the  limit was introduced, the effect was immediate because my calendar was automatically blocked. In short, I had to move back to London into that property and completely re-adapt to my old lifestyle (because I do not want to do traditional 'long-term' lets = problematic in many ways, not least in that your place usually gets trashed!)

As you have been informed by other users, you can indeed take advance bookings for a new calendar year.

Airbnb does not cater for or assist hosts who are trying to rent 'long-term'. That is, there is no special 'flag' / filter or way for a guest to zone in on places which are available for periods of longer than 90 nights at a time, apart from the obvious date-range filter. But this date-range filter doesn't really help much because too many hosts leave their 'maximum-stay' setting at 'no limit' (this is unrealistic, because most hosts are living in the property that they want to rent out entirely, but only for a couple of weeks a year when they are away on holiday and are not actually set up for long-term rental or actively specialising in that provision).

So, a potential guest has to wade through hundreds of unsuitable properties to try and find the ones that actually ARE set up (and really available) for long term rental.

Despite all my 5-star reviews / Superhost status etc, I only ever received two enquiries for stays longer than 90 nights, one of which came off, the other did not. So, I don't believe that Airbnb is currently a good platform for generating this type of 'tenant'. If they bothered to adapt their software to include a tick-box for searching for 'long-term' properties (in the same way that users can narrow down their search to only include Superhosts, for example), then it *might* stimulate some interest. This would be so easy for them to do, and I have asked numerous times, but they don't seem interested in this market. Strange really, because Airbnb could easily give the 'traditional' rental market a run for it's money - AND raise standards of renting along the way...

This is what makes me laugh/despair about all the hypocritical criticism of Airbnb in the press - because they, as a company, DO strive to (and have achieved success in) raising the standards in accommodation provision in London, whereas, too many traditional landlords still get away with providing awful, filthy, poorly-maintained accommodation and treating their tenants like sh*t whilst charging over-the-top rents. And yet, Airbnb are hammered all the time in the press and now by the Mayor and councils / government with regards to imposing this archaic law. (none of the other accomodation platforms were forced into applying the rules, and don't even mention them on their sites!). The government should certainly close loop-holes allowing Airbnb (and other multi-national companies) to avoid paying the appropriate UK taxes, but work WITH them to promote a healthy, fair, innovative and competitive accommodation to literally clean up this shameful industry.

Apologies for going 'beyond topic'! 🙂

[Michael502]

Thx Daniel for informative reply. Yes had thought of long-term "trashing" risk. How was your long term guest? 

From vague memory, this one airbnb host has found a way to flag his 90+ listing - although as you helpfully point out the search system isn't really set up for it.

And it's silly that airbnb doesn't extend its reach to long-term lets.  Would be lucrative and legal in big cities now limited.

[Daniel-and-Marsio0]

Hi @Michael502

We had a succession of wonderful 'long term' guests (1 - 4 months). Never any big problems. Of course, over time, and with experience, I have pre-empted as many potential issues as possible to eliminate them before they could even happen! Virtually all of the guests who stayed expressed interest in buying my flat!

Due to the price-point, we attracted financially comfortable guests who appreciated the 'luxury' touches of the property and respected the place accordingly. Dare I say, 'sophisticated', well-mannered and educated people who were least likely to damage or mis-treat the property and contents. The fact that they had to pay one months' 'rent' in advance to Airbnb - often months ahead of their residency - provided huge confidence that money was never going to be an issue for subsequent payments. We never had to claim on the (high) security deposit that we had in place. 

Due to the popularity of the place, the bookings were taken well in advance (many months). So, this gave me the added confidence that the guests were long-terms planners, stable, sensible people and not lastminute.commers, who, in my experience, tend to be the ones who create havoc. There was always plenty of time to discuss arrival and departure dates/times/details and I made sure that I did all check-ins and check-outs.

Thanks to the fact that I travelled back from Europe for each change-over of guests, it allowed my to keep 'control' of my property, keep up-to-date with repairs and maintenance, and also deep-clean the place properly without having to trust/rely/pay other people. I don't think I would have done it any other way. Personally, I don't believe that a third-party cleaning or property management agency would have handled things better than me or achieved such a high occupancy rate. Meeting and greeting each of my guests also gave them confidence in me as a host, and they were re-assured that I was always available at the end of a phone or by FaceTime / Skype to deal with any issues. Doing the check-out personally was also important as it gave my guests an opportunity to tell me about their experience face-to-face, show me any maintenance issues and also 'seal the deal' for a good review.

Of course, there were some small problems - ruined towels, noisy neighbours (re-development) and various other niggles, but taken as a whole, it was a success and everyone was happy, including me. 

On the other hand... everyone I have spoken to who has rented their property out 'long-term' in the traditional way has had their place abused or trashed and/or had problems with receiving payment. You have to hand it to Airbnb - they have this element really stitched-up tightly, and all the other platforms trail far behind in this respect. 

The biggest draw-back for me regarding long-term 'traditional' rentals is being 'locked out' of my property for 1 or 2 years - that inflexibility just doesn't suit me, but I can see how that might be an atraction for other people who feel they need that 'stability'.

Finally, aside from actually mentioning it in your property title, (which might get spotted when scrolling through listings, but certainly can't be 'searched' for*) I can't see how you can 'flag up' that your place is specifically for long-term rental. I would like to hear more about that - who is it / which is their listing / is it something they did themselves or set up with Airbnb? etc!

* especially since Airbnb removed the 'key word' search - a very sad day...

[Edwin57]

In order to be safe is best to have a room of your own We have a spare room witch we keep supply for the guest but is still a spare room is only for safety but it's also good to have no one can said you are renting the whole house is only for safety to see who is who that's all 

[Raman2]

It does not apply to single rooms

[Jim247]

Can I reregister my property using different host names, slightly different addresses, different map locations, etc., to make my property look like different properties in order to get around the London 90 rule? Does Airbnb monitor for this? Do they even enforce it?

[Clare0]

@Jim247 these changes won't help, sadly.  If you post a new listing with a different address, guests will go to the wrong place.  😞

There may be some other alternatives as suggested in this link: 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1628/night-limits--frequently-asked-questions

I'm sure Airbnb monitors listings in London as they are required to do so.  

[Michael502]

Hi Clare

Thx. One thing not covered in link - are you allowed after hitting the 90 day "Entire Place" limit, to then rent out parts of the place under "Private Room" for the rest of the year?

[Clare0]

@Michael502  I believe some hosts do this.  You would need to create another listing(s) that are categorized as Private or Shared Rooms. 

I cannot give you a definitive answer, however, as I cannot speak for Airbnb.  Best to consult with them for the final word.  

Are you not interested in expanding your minimum stay requirement to long term reservations?  This way you would not need to create new listings.  

[Rachel12]

Hi Michael

I have created a new listing to rent out a room as I normally rent out my whole place and have been hit badly ( financially) by the 90 day rule.   I have had hardly any response whatsoever from my room listing and only  had one booking.  it doesn't suit me at all to have a lodger in the house as its a bit too intimate for that.  I've tried listing under different titles to get people to book like "Private room with sole use of flat" and even made it clear that I won't be there if they book the room.  But still no one has booked.  I don't think rooms are half as popular as entire flats but you might have more luck.  Anyway just wanted to let you know that it can be done.

[Michael502]

Hi Rachel

V. much appreciate your time & trouble in replying. Your v. limited guest interest is what one expected/expects.  But I notice, if I'm right,  you're way sarf :). I did look v. recently  at private rooms in my pretty central NW area. I was surprised to see there the odd ones wh. were either close to or actually flats, at high-ish prices (up to £100 +)  that seemed to be well booked.  Everyone's experience here v. welcome. Thx again Rachel

[John498]

I have had a similar experience Rachel though I am not sure why. My place is quite central with good access to transport and Camden Market and CamdenTown. It seems not only has AIRBNB moved away from the community spirit but guests have too. Even though I consider the individual rooms great value there is only a fraction of the interest that the whole apartment engenders. I put it down to the move away from a community platform as above plus a desire or insistence on an en-suite or non- shared bathroom.

[Michael502]

Hi John

Have you tried offering it with non-shared bathroom (wh. I think is what more successful NW3 Private Rooms were offering) - or has it always been pure Private Room?

[John498]

Hi Michael, It would mean not renting the second room. Even when I stay there I would need access to the bathroom as it also contains the toilet. I find Americans particularly keen on en suite and Indians too.

[Michael502]

Commiserations. But I was really targeting my enquiry at those who normally rent out an Entire Place and wondering about their prospects in re-presenting some to all as Private Room - for whom offering an incl. bathroom/whatever is not a prob.