Air BnB is against our lease, however......

[James-and-Nicky0]

Air BnB is against our lease, however we have been allowed to do this type of holiday letting - along with 3 other flats in our building - for several years now. 

After a few complaints by the other residents (mainly elderly residents who don’t like the different people in the hallway, they have not complained about any bad behaviour etc), the directors of the lease have now told us to cease immediately.

We are obviously very upset about this, as not only is it a part of our income, but we don’t feel like we’ve done anything wrong as the other flats have been doing this for years.

My question is, as we have already been doing this, along with the other flats, can they force us to stop if they have already given us permission?

thanks, Nicky

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@James-and-Nicky0 

If they have already given you permission and you have evidence of that, than refuting that permission would need careful consideration of how the permission was granted and whether there was any time restriction or notice period provided with it.

It could get messy, but if you do in fact have permission overriding your lease then it will be for the directors of the lease to take some action against you continuing with your Airbnb rental.

[Alexandra316]

@James-and-Nicky0 You start by saying that renting your place as an Airbnb is against the terms of your lease. Did you have an agreement in writing that stated that there was an exception, or were the owners just turning a blind eye to what was going on? If the latter, I wouldn't think you have much of a leg to stand on here. It's up to the owners of the property what is allowed to be done with the property, and rules against subletting are extremely common. You may need to take some legal advice if you want to take it any further.

[Mark116]

@James-and-Nicky0   My guess is the answer is no.  Your lease already says that you can't sublet, but the owners apparently either didn't know or didn't enforce it, but since it's already in the lease, I doubt you can legally force the owners to allow you to continue.

[Lisa723]

Ask an attorney.

[Anonymous]

@James-and-Nicky0  the terms of your lease would generally take precedence over any informal exceptions that have been made to them. You should absolutely obey the cease-and-desist while awaiting advice from a lawyer about how to proceed.

If you have been granted formal permission to do a holiday sublet, and you have written evidence, this could be a basis for further action, with a lawyer's assistance. But if not, I don't recommend wasting money on a lawyer, as you don't have a winning argument.

[Paul154]

@James-and-Nicky0 

UK and US are different so bear with me.

When you say "lease" I assume you don't own the apartment. While you have some rights to renew your future lease, owner is under any obligation to re-rent to you especially  - if you break their rules.

Owners have now aribitrarilty changed their minds about letting you do airbnb.

You may argue that you may continue to rent through airbnb because the owners "Waived their rights" when they turned a blind eye to your airbnb business.

It is a valid argument. However, how will you feel if they don't renew your lease?

My advise is to negotiate with the owners. Offer them their 'cut'. Emphasize your guests' discretion.

Ask owners how it could work.

I know as a landlord, I'd be pissed if my tenants were illegally subletting. However if I could get my share, either through profit-sharing or higher rent, without any increase in problems, I'd be happy. I could also withstand the complaints of the older tenants.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@James-and-Nicky0 

I'm guessing that there might be only 8 flats in your property? If so, you and the other 3 owners who rent on Airbnb might benefit from combining resources to negotiate your lease.