Feb

Exclusive: Airbnb slams lettings industry report into short lets boom as ‘flawed’

admin

Lettings agency industry association ARLA Propertymark claims its research shows Airbnb is damaging traditional rental market.

Airbnb has dismissed the findings of a new report that predicts nearly half a million properties could be left unavailable in the
private rented sector as more landlords exit the market and move into
short-term lets.

ARLA Propertymark’s survey of 1,000 landlords
found that 2.7% had moved from having long-term tenants, while 10% said they were likely to consider a
switch to short-term lets.

Based
on this, ARLA says the number of unavailable properties would reach 470,000 if
those landlords who said they were ‘very or fairly likely’ to leave did leave.

In response to questions from LandlordZone, an Airbnb spokesman has
slammed the report as, “flawed conclusions produced by an industry body working
to protect its interests”.

He says: “Most hosts are not professional landlords, and more than
half say the additional income they earn from occasionally sharing their space
helps them afford their home.”

ARLA’s Impact of
Short-Term Lets report says thousands of landlords faced with
burdensome regulations are quitting the private rented sector to offer
short-term lets instead.

It fears the shift will have a significant
impact on the country’s already stretched housing supply and, because fewer
properties are available for long-term rent, believes a rise in rent costs
would be inevitable.

However, the UK Short Term Accommodation Association
says there is no study which demonstrates a concrete link between short-term
rentals and housing supply in the UK.

“As long as amateur short letting is only done in properties
which are lived in for some portion of the year, there will be no impact on the
long-term housing supply as these homes are not available for long-term letting,”
adds chair Merilee Karr.

Airbnb is currently conducting a roadshow around the
UK and promises to collaborate with hosts, communities and politicians across
the UK on proposals for a simple statutory registration system for short-term
rentals.

View Full Article: Exclusive: Airbnb slams lettings industry report into short lets boom as ‘flawed’