Airbnb host fined £100,000 and evicted for letting out London council flat to tourists

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “Social housing is there to provide much-needed homes for our residents, not to generate illicit profits for dishonest tenants,” Andrew Smith, a councillor for Westminster City Council, said. Airbnb’s guidelines for hosts in the UK warns that “subsidised or social housing usually has rules that prohibit subletting without permission” and advises users to check with their housing authority before becoming a host. “Airbnb is the only platform that works with London to limit how often hosts can share their space and we support proposals from the mayor of London for a registration system to help local authorities regulate short term lets and ensure rules are applied equally to hosts on all platforms in the capital.” Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has called for a registration system for anyone who wants to rent out a property for less than 90 days to protect long-term renters in the capital. “But these benefits must be balanced with the need to protect long-term rented housing, and to make sure neighbours aren’t impacted by a high turnover of visitors.” The number of rooms available on Airbnb has surged in London in recent years, quadrupling since 2015 with nearly 80,000 rooms or homes listed on the website, according to figures from Inside Airbnb.