12 Reasons Why Airbnb isn’t a Rental Solution

Tempted to rent out your property using the holiday let market? Here’s why going down the Airbnb route may leave landlords deflated.

A highly-visible brand and a seemingly unlimited supply of guests haven’t gone unnoticed by landlords. Aspire, however, highlights why Airbnb is not a good alternative to the private rental sector. Here’s 10 reasons to rule out Airbnb:-

Over 90 days? It may be illegal – in London there is a specific law banning people from short-letting their home for more than 90 days in a single year. It’s the biggest Airbnb caveat and exceeding the day limit could lead to a £20,000 fine.
You’ll have to pay tax on the net profit – Airbnbs and alike are not a way of sidestepping HMRC.
Your mortgage may prohibit short lets – many buy-to-let mortgages will prohibit short and holiday lets.
Leasehold? Think again – some leaseholds have a clause that bans holiday lets and the freeholder can sue the leaseholder if holiday lets take place.
Furniture is expected– short-term guests will expect their Airbnb to be furnished, so that means leaving your own belongings for use by a stream of strangers, or moving everything you own into storage and buying a fresh set of furniture at your own cost.
Expect more damage – high traffic holiday lets inevitably come with damage to your property and its contents. Not only will you have to pay to replace and repair, you’ll probably have to visit the property more often to assess its condition.
You may invalidate your insurances – again, you’ll need to check with your provider that the cover you have is suitable for holiday and short lets. And in high-turnover situations, you may be calling on your insurance more than ever.
Check in and out happen frequently – so you’ll have to make yourself super available or pay someone to conduct handovers for you as frequently as every 24-48 hours.
There isn’t thorough referencing – so landlords will have less control over the caliber of person moving in to their property.
Your guest could sublet – with fewer checks, less vigilance and the lack of a professional letting agent, some Airbnb guests try to make a little money for themselves by subletting – either just a room or the whole property.
Airbnbs can be misused – although there are many genuine guests, Airbnb’s have a reputation for housing illegal activities and being open for misuse. Unless you make regular inspections, it can be hard to keep track of what’s going on inside.
There’s no Airbnb ombudsman – this is unlike the lettings industry, where both the tenant and the landlord can go to The Property Ombudsman for mediation and resolution.