AIBU to report a flat being used for Airbnb?

[VeryQuaintIrene]

Interested in others' opinions on this one. The management in my block explicitly prohibit airbnb rentals. I was pretty sure that the flat opposite mine was being used like this and I did a little sleuthing and found it on the site. Normally, I might decide that it's none of my business (the guests have not been disruptive) except that the owners deliberately turfed out the lovely woman who lived there with her family, causing her a lot of financial and other stress, so that they could make way more money than with a regular tenancy. Should I tell the management company? I think my motives maybe are a bit vengeful (and obviously it's too late for my lovely ex-neighbour) and I probably won't do anything, but what does everyone think?

No, don’t. I expect the old tenant has found somewhere new, so this would just be a vindictive move.

Also, Airbnb is not a guaranteed income so your presumption that they will make more money is completely wrong. The owner will now be liable for council tax (now often at a second homes 100% premium) or business rates, plus all bills).

Being a landlord brings a lot of stress in management though, Airbnb far less so (in my experience).

I would. Once one person is seen to be getting away with ignoring the rules, it encourages others.

Yes I would.

@Honeypickle While I agree with some of what you say, I saw how much the airbnb was being advertised for and it is hugely more than what it would get as a rental, even if it's not continuously occupied (and it seems to host a lot of guests!) And we are explicitly told that airbnb is forbidden and this person is doing it, which is irritating to say the least.

What’s bothering you more? The financial gain (which I really really doubt will be as much as you think - seriously double council tax is an absolute killer) or the fact they’re not allowed to?

Probably a bit of both?

If it were me, I’d probably assess how much of a nuisance the Airbnb guests were vs a normal tenant (ie parties/late nights) and then decide whether to report.

Plus the amount of cleaning/bed changing they’ll have to do if they have frequent changeovers, may put them off soon anyway!

I don’t think I would bother provided things stay as they are and you aren’t inconvenienced by noise, mess etc. Any change in that situation, I’d definitely report it.

I would, so far no hassles,I would think that odds are that won't always be the case.

@Honeypickle Mostly that we've been told not to and they've ignored it so completely blatantly (the price seemed absurd to me when I saw it, but I can see that there are lots of expenses involved in doing this). I think it's better to have people who actually live there full-time, though I appreciate it's not up to me! Thanks for your input.

I think you should report because others may start doing the same. This potentially could lead to problems in the future.

Yes, without a second's doubt. Air BNBs are ruining people's chances of renting/buying homes to live in especially in tourist areas. It's a very poor use of a very scarce resource as most are empty for many days of the year. I'd actually ban flats/houses in residential areas from being used as holiday lets/air BNBs and leave them to places that aren't really suited to permanent living, such as remote farm/barn conversions, converted railway stations, etc.

My son really struggled to get a flat to rent when he left Uni and had to move to a different city for his first job. It took six months to even get a viewing as all the agents only allowed a limited number of viewings on a particular day - non negotiable - take the viewing or leave it! When he finally got a viewing, he had to offer a year's rent up front and a 15% hike on the asking rent to secure it - the agents said literally everyone who viewed that day wanted to rent it! When he moved in, he realised that in his small block (six flats) out of a small complex of 3 blocks (18 flats), there was only one other permanent resident - 4 of the 6 were holiday lets, so empty most of the "off season" and then ridiculously noisy/inconvenient in the busy holiday periods with people coming and going all times of the day and having parties without a thought to the other residents.

It's time it was stopped. We have a massive shortage of homes for people to live in and holiday lets in residential areas are making it worse.

I would report it as it's only a matter of time till you get knobheads staying there. Also, I know people suggest it's not that lucrative but the type of person who evicts a nice tenant from their home is unlikely to pay all the charges, council tax, etc they should so you go for it!

Yeah, I would. Airbnbs are horrifically bad for local communities on so many levels, and all so someone who doesn't have to live with the inconvenience can turn a buck. It's just selfish greed tbh, and if it's specifically not allowed, I wouldn't be turning a blind eye.

Our block of flats prohibits Air BnB, and there is a reason for that - the inhabitants could be nice or not, could be respectful of neighbours or not, could know/not know the rules around disposing garbage etc. There is too much variability and potential inconvenience with having a high turnover of occupants in such flats. I would report it. It isn't about being vindictive, it is about respecting the rules of good neighbourliness agreed between those who live/own flats there.

Usually in these scenarios it's difficult to prove they're doing an Airbnb and even more difficult to do anything about it.

It probably isn't stipulated in the lease either.

Probably only do it if you've got nothing better to do.

@JoyousOpalLemur The proof is on the site itself - the pictures are unarguable! And our lease specifically prohibits it. But I certainly have plenty to do!

So far, collective wisdom has made nothing clearer, as I suspected... :)

How are the AirBnB guests getting into your block? Are the hosts handing out a security code, or keys that could be easily copied? It would bother me if ex-guests could let themselves in again any time they feel like it.

YABU. It doesn’t impact you in the slightest.

If it's against the terms of the lease I would definitely report it. And keep making a noise about it to the management company until they did something.

@VeryQuaintIrene DO report it. People are struggling to rent an appt.

Yes, I would. AirBnBing a flat without permission can invalidate buildings insurance for the entire block.

Do all the flats in your block have the same terms in their lease?
We own a seaside flat and we are allowed to rent ours out Airbnb style but non of the other flats in the block are. We specifically had that put in our lease when we bought it new from the developer to ensure that was an option if we ever wanted to use it.

Having numerous short stay renters in a block of flats kas the potential to be hugely bothersome

Increased security risk, noise, people who don't care about how they treat the property, other landlords deciding to do the same etc, I'm sure you don't need me to point out the obvious downsides

I live on a private mixed house/flat estate. We own the freehold and I am one of the directors of the residents management company

All the leases prohibit lets of less than six months (I believe this is pretty common) and we enforce them if we discover that someone is running an AirBnB business from any property. We usually find out as residents complain about parking, being woken up by someone knocking on the wrong door or asking for a door or car park code. Or just seeing different people and cars around for a short time.

There is a real concern among some of the residents of flats about the entry door codes being known by so many people

AirBnB owners tend to play innocent. They didn't realise - the solicitor didn't tell them etc etc. Frankly that's their problem - it's their responsibility to know what is in their legal documents

We do usually find they stop but it can often take a solicitors letter before this happens. AirBnB themselves aren't at all interested. They just point you to the owners

As other PP have said I'd report it

I would report. Include a link to the website.

It’s not a problem now but maybe that’s just luck.