• ASIDE from the usual horror stories of Airbnb guests wrecking hosts’ homes, there are far more insidious effects from such websites on a borough like Camden.

According to a joint report Airbnb – Impact and Outlook for London* five areas of London were responsible for over one million of their overnight stays last year – and one of those was Camden.

The rules:

Camden Federation of Private Tenants (CFPT), which has represented renters in the borough for over 30 years, has been closely monitoring the effects on the local housing market of such websites.

Until 2015 London homeowners were not allowed to rent out premises for short periods of time during the year without planning consent. This was reversed by The Deregulation Act 2015 which permitted numerous short-term lets to a total of 90 nights in one year.

This change coincided with the rise of Airbnb and similar websites which facilitate short lets internationally, with ease, while taking minimum responsibility for the outcome. At the time, government spoke in terms of families benefiting as both hosts and users while on holiday. But the reality has proved rather different.

Landlords:

Evidence suggests that there’s a London-wide move by professional landlords to switch their properties from serving permanent residents over to short lets of just a few days, at rental rates more comparable with hotels.

What were homes for Londoners, have become labelled as “pseudo-hotels” for tourists, exacerbating the massive shortfall in the capital’s housing supply and pushing up rents.

Worryingly some landlords have remodelled their properties to accommodate more people in tiny, hotel-room, spaces. Sometimes these are so small that they breach housing laws on minimum floor size.

The illegalities involved can extend to breach of leases by flat owners and renters sub-letting without the consent of their landlord.

Another side-effect of short-term lets is noise, with nearby residents complaining of being woken by comings and goings at all hours connected with cheap flights.

Local residents:

A member of CFPT lives in Judd Street, near the British Museum, and she complains that flat owners who profit from short-term letting often exceed the 90 nights in a year limit and suspects that the managing agents of her block turn a blind eye to it.

“Residents are continually being disturbed and there’s no longer a sense of community as the place is full of strangers,” she says.

HomeAway.com offers a one-bedroom flat (though it claims to sleep three) in her block at “From £75 per night” (equivalent monthly rent £2,281).

Guests:

We have gained a unique insight into the Airbnb phenomenon through another member who was forced to seek temporary accommodation locally and used the service on several occasions.

She reports some disturbing experiences; that many properties were being sub-let illegally, including one near Euston that seemed to be a council, or ex-council-owned, property.

In another the “landlord” was actually a tenant and these rent-to-rent situations are becoming common as the unscrupulous realise that they can rent for themselves at one price and then sub-let to others at a profit.

Her impression was that “a lot of properties in Camden were not being let by property owners but were actually sub-lets”.

One room she took in a building near Camden Road station had clearly been adapted badly from its previous purpose as an office. Another, near Mornington Crescent, was a complete building converted to tiny rooms.

Other issues she encountered included a lack of smoke alarms, no obvious fire escape provision or signage, faulty gas cooker and electrics, broken furniture, a lack of curtains or blinds, and an insecure front door that had apparently been kicked in.

More research about short-term letting:

A recent report on short-term letting, produced by The London School of Economics, was based on wide-ranging interviews with residents and businesses in Camden and three other central London boroughs. Half of residents who responded reported negative effects on their neighbourhood from these properties.

One Camden resident complained of a dwindling sense of community, while others noted increased noise and a decreased sense of security. A typical comment blamed short-term lets for dumping rubbish and for all-night parties, saying that renters felt no long-term responsibility.

Residents were aware of short lets annexing properties which had previously been on longer lets, reducing the homes available to rent normally and, probably, increasing rents.

Many respondents felt that the sector needed new regulation, specifically a mandatory register of properties to be kept by local authorities; but they also recognised that councils lacked the resources to enforce existing rules, for example, the 90-day rule.

• WHAT our members tell us shows a very different picture from the “experience a city like a local” ideal you see being promoted on their websites, YouTube videos and TV adverts.

Also, one of the biggest problems of Camden’s private rented sector is the short-term nature of the accommodation being provided and the impact this has on the community.

Websites like Airbnb and HomeAway make this problem worse by encouraging and facilitating even shorter-term letting.

We believe local authorities need to be given more powers and resources to deal with this growing problem – as it’s not going to go away.

*Joint report by Colliers International, Hotelschool The Hague and AirDNA at www.colliers.com 

ROBERT TAYLOR
Manager of Camden Federation of Private Tenants