Air Bnb has ruined my life

I think regarding clamp downs it does take years. Where I’m from originally (Edinburgh) it was a nightmare for air bnbs. It took years but there has been a serious clamp down ( for all of Scotland) according to Airbnb's own stats the number of whole house listings in Edinburgh has gone down by two thirds since its peak.

You need a licence and checks and it’s expensive, still doable, but much more a pain do landlords are less inclined .

We have an illegal letting a few streets away from me (breaches the restrictive covenants where we live and probably also breaches the London no more than 20 days a year London airbnb restriction) which is making someone's life a misery whom I know. Luckily the council and Airbnb have now appointed a case officer. The owner was contacted who of course lives in Dubai and is from a country I won't mention but is a country of one of the enemies of the UK state and does not seem to care less. The owner is not the supposed "host" on the airbnb link . Since the lettings started the guests (or should i say the horribile people some of whom break the law ) are dumping waste in bin bags (as the airbnb for the flat has a rule about taking your waste when you go) I often clear up on the road by there and this week alone I have removed one plastic bag of waste and also a baby's nappy they hung on a bush. Awful guests. Awful hosts. Awful owner.

@Livelovebehappy I understand that but do think there should be finite numbers ‘licensed’ within certain areas , it’s killing off many villages too in pretty areas as they are dead during the week or out of season, no kids for the schools , not enough trade in shops in the week etc out of season

@booksunderthebed blimey that’s brave- not sure I could get mine up to spit spot standard I would expect if someone was renting for a holiday

Thank you for raising this. Yes, air bnb is now a huge problem in tourist hotspots the world over, including in tbe UK, and they absolutely need to be regulated which in the UK prob means something like an HMO license or control under planning law.
They are removing a huge number of properties from the housing market with all the social tensions that follow on.

Is there a shared hall? I'd print out an eye-catching notice asking for quiet and consideration, suggest times and point out it's a residential block.
I have a friend in Spain that lives on her boat for 3 months in the summer and rents out her house - could you do something like that?

I came on to say exactly this. So all those posters saying i would never use air bnb i only use whatever cottage website are just the same.

I don't use air bnb as i find their pricing structure to be misleading. I want to know the bottom line. I don't want all the add on prices just tell me how much it is. The last 2 or 3 places I've stayed in have been on air bnb as well as other holiday let sites Like booking.com
The whole system does need more regulation.
Many people have explained why hotels don't work for them.
To the posters suggesting a campsite. No thank you. It's not for me.

You’re right, we shouldn’t use any of them unless it’s purpose built holiday accommodation.

Who is demonising? Not me.

But the other lets are the same! Cottages.com/booking.com/blakes/sykes they are largely properties across all platforms. It’s daft to demonise just one.

They're needed. We are always being encouraged to holiday in this country so need somewhere to stay in the places that are attractive to holiday in. Many of us don't want hotels bnbs or caravans. Before Airbnb there were always places to rent via booking.com, holiday cottages etc.

I also once stayed in an airbnb that was clearly the owners only residence, they had obviously worked out this was a way to finance their holidays.

When I did my walkabout through Europe in the mid 90’s I stayed in hostels and B&Bs. The B&Bs were absolutely in residential neighborhoods the hostels not as much. The difference between the B&Bs of old and the new Airbnb is that the owners used to be on site and you had breakfast catered.

Ha.. and to find them you got a book(!) that you shlepped around in your backpack that you would pick a random listing and call first thing when you got off the train. The most popular one was “Let’s Go!” (It was lovingly referred to as “Let’s Lie!” because as you can imagine some of the info was pretty dodgy or out of date because it was published once a year) and you would buy one for every country or region that you planned to visit.

I kind of miss the B&Bs that I stayed in. Cheap, clean, a good breakfast in the morning and usually a granny running it that would make you a little homesick but would wish you well on your travels as you left.

@Livelovebehappy do any of your friends rent and live in areas full of them? I’ve used them and only had 1 poor experience- doesn’t mean I don’t disagree with them on a societal level , or at least not being registered as businesses and restricted in numbers - I am not against people letting rooms in their homes out or self contained annexes on the owners property - I am against whole units being let out

Why should a whole area be Air BNBs, destroying communities that have lived there for years, unregulated and circumventing the business rates that other small businesses have to pay. Putting a strain on the local rubbish and recycling as services that permanent residents like me pay incredibly high council tax for. I don't want Air BNB neighbours in the local flats, houses that are using up all the parking on the Street at the weekend, having noisy get togethers like it is a Karaoke night at a hotel bar!

They are not in a minority at all. People who live in these areas are absolutely fed up of it and the negative impact on the permanent residents and community. I literally gave an example above of this frustration galvanising local residents into taking action and objecting to the leisure centre being made into luxury apartments, end result - it will continue to be a lesiure centre serving the needs of local residents!

Hotels are not an alternative to self contained self catering properties. I sleep very badly and so my partner and I have separate bedrooms. We need two bedrooms whenever we go away.

That doesn't mean that I have no sympathy for those who are affected by the anti social behaviour of people on holidays.

There does seem to be a huge rise in city break type holidays with people going away for just a few days rather than one annual holiday so more people can afford to travel more often.

So glad you're in a minority. Many of my friends, family and acquaintances use Airbnb regularly. And love them. Never had a bad experience.

There are loads of homes on right move for buyers. The shortage of homes are the ones where people need to rent. It's a buyers market out there. But MN seems to think there should be no landlords either and presumably all those who need private rentals should just live in a tent in a park somewhere. If there were no Airbnbs there would only be b&bs, hotels and holiday parks. Which aren't appropriate for some. So leave the Airbnbs alone....

I’m sorry you are suffering, but privately owned holiday cottages / apparent have always existed. They are on booking.com and many other company websites as well as Airbnb. Airbnb is just an advertising platform. The difference is the massive increase in holidaymakers. Especially city breaks, which have a far longer season than beach holidays and resorts with pools.

I have no idea about what you can do as it will depend on the local system.

However I think air bnbs are awful in so many ways and should be much more closely regulated if not banned.

I could be wrong, but it now feels like bed and breakfasts are really pricey. I used to use them sometimes for a weekend away, and could afford them then. It is hard to find anywhere affordable these days. I don't need anything fancy, as I am only sleeping there, but the prices seem to have become really high. Hotels aren't my bag; too much fussing around for me. I also like to cook my own food! Thus holiday rentals are what I want.

Not necessarily. I have holidays in self-catering places for decades, and have done as a child. We never stayed in somewhere purpose-built, but always in a house in a street, or on farms etc.

Oh yes, all those strong men leaving the females and small children of their families behind in dangerous countries deserve our sympathy 😩