Is this the end of Airbnb in London?

[Ronda4]

I am newly retired from my day job and the plan was to Airbnb a self-contained room at my house to provide me with an income.  The guests I have had so far, from all over the world, have all been charming and respectful, and I have loved meeting new people many of whom are now friends.  Although I have read some horror stories on this site, mine is the experience of the majority of Airbnb hosts. 

I can understand that in some situations neighbours can be disturbed, but that is a question of poor management by the host.  Airbnb is not supposed to replace short and long-term letting, and I can also understand that those using the service in this way should be penalised.

However, my view is that there needs to be a differentiation between greedy London landlords who use the Airbnb site for profiteering and flout the idea of a shared economy from those who let out a spare room.  Surely I should have the freedom to rent a room in my own freehold property without restrictions?  The 90-day capping is ridiculous, yet there is no restriction on my letting the room to a noisy housemate continually at 90 day intervals! 

I would also like to know if Airbnb can help to lobby on our behalf.  Otherwise, Airbnb will be forced out of towns like London, and perhaps even a wider afield. I would like to know the experiences of other home owners in London, who like me need the income.

[Victoria57]

@Ronda4 watching London Tonight yesterday I got the impression that Sadiq Khan is more concerned about people and companies renting out entire properties on Airbnb rather than those who rent out one or two rooms in their family home. He did say he wasn't trying to close down Airbnb in London. I wouldn't be surprised to see restrictions similar to Berlin after he meets senior Airbnb people early next year.

[Ronda4]

Thanks for your reply.  I agree that the focus is and should be on the commercial landlords, but unless you apply for planning consent, and trust me Westminster LPA is the most difficult authority I have ever had to deal with, you are breaking planning laws by renting out to short lets for more more than 90 in a year.  My question is why the restriction?  What difference does it make if you rent out 90 or 180 days? I suspect it is a far more political agument than we are led to believe and perhaps it is thise with vested interests like the large hotel chains who are lobbying against Airbnb.  This is restrictive practise and should be stopped.

Is anyone else afected by this?

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

Renting out a self contained room: first it would have to be proven that you did so more than 90 days in a year and AIrBnB does not, and is not obliged to give that information to any authority in London nor the UK. So go ahead and do so. THe other option you may consider is to find a regular Mon-Thurs lodger from the many people who come to work in London for a few days each week and then just use AirBnB for rentals from Thurs-Sun/Mon, which is the peak weekend vistitor period. Sites like MondaytoFriday and fivenights a week are ideal for the former set up.

[Ronda4]

Hi G and R,

Good advice thank you and I will follow this up.  It still begs the question why 90 days?  Also whilst Airbnb are not obliged to handover information a quick head count of the reviews is probably enough.  Maybe this is something Airbnb should think about.

All in all I am left uncomfortable about this situation.

RF

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

Just someone's guess - 90 days is as good as 80 or 120. And remember that the current Government has increased the £ you can earn by nearly 50% through renting out a room in your house this year, and it does not usually have to be declared as long as it is under that limit. That's a fairly clear indication that this type of business is here to stay and recognises it as a valid way to earn some £. (at least for now)

[Ronda4]

Thanks G and R.  Yes, I agree there are saving graces, but it isnt ideal.

There was a thread started by Peter in June which I noticed you were on.  A lot of others were commenting on this 90 day rule, and I saw that he was trying to organise a meet up for a London group do you know if that happened?  The thread died in August.  Maybe I will post something there to see if anyone is still interested.

[Louise35]

HI 

Does anyone know if you were to apply for a permit from the local council to gain permission to airbnb/ short let for more than 90 days what are the conditions / costs and do you actually receive a permit?

Thanks

Louise

[Ronda4]

Hi Louise 

A very good question, would like to hear from anyone that has.  It would of course mean that they would write to all of your immediate neighbours, possible insist on a liscence and the premises would need to be regularly checked to comply with fire regs... Maybe too many hurdles for most people.

RF

[Ingrid62]

I think you may find there are NO RESTRICTIONS for anyone who is letting a room in their homes whilst they remain in residence - provided they have the Freehold of the property or that there are no restrictions in their Leases. All the various restrictions being referred to by the various government bodies relates to either absentee Landlords, Leaseholders with restrictive covenants or Business Landlords with multiple properties.

So no, this will not be the end of Airbnb in London!

[Ronda4]

Hello Ingrid,

Wow you are a star, where did you find that piece of information?  I have read through everything Westminster Council has put on their website, but never came across that.  If you could post a link or tell me where to find where it says that I will be eternally grateful.

RF

[Ronda4]

Hi Ingrid,

Sorry to press you, but how sure are you of what you have written.  I notice from your other posts that you are not based in central London and you may therefore be unaware of the restrictions that inner London Boroughs have imposed on everyone, including home owners.  

Can anyone else confirm either way?

RF

[Carolyn76]

To add a little to this thread, I think this is if you rent out to the same person for more than 90 consecutive days, which I would think few of us do. 

Please could somewhere tell me what this level 2, 3 etc mean?!

Carolyn

[Ronda4]

Hi Carolyn,

I had thought the same as you, but that is actually not correct.  Unless I have misunderstood this, you are allowed to have as many lets over 90 days as you want, but if you have short stay/holiday lets of under 90 days, which is the majority of Airbnb hosts, then you can only do a maximum of 90 days in a year.  Otherwise you will need to apply for planning consent.  This is not the rule for boroughs outside the centre of london.

I believe the levels indicate how long you have been hosting or how many guests you host.  How it is calculated is a mystery...

RF

[Zandra0]

90 days is a random amount decided on by legislators.  A lot of people don't seem to be aware it was zero days a couple of years back so actually the 90 day limit represented a RELAXATION of existing laws not a tightening of the law.  Funny isn't it because all I see is it being represented as a bad thing ...

The 90 days actually applies to everyone, but Airbnb are going to only apply the restriction to whole properties listed as such.