Tighten rules governing short-term let providers like Airbnb, says CIH

The Chartered Institute of Housing has called for tighter regulation of short-term holiday let providers such as Airbnb to stem the potential loss of private rented homes available to local people.

The CIH’s latest UK Housing Review, published today, argued that the supply of private rented homes in UK cities and holiday destinations popular with tourists could be seriously affected by the rising popularity of such short-term let properties.

The report, written by a group of academics and housing specialists, suggested that in Greater London there were 77,000 Airbnb lets, with more than 8,000 in Westminster, 7,500 in Tower Hamlets and nearly 6,000 in Hackney.

Edinburgh had more than 10,000 Airbnb properties leading, the CIH’s UK Housing Review argued, to rising rents and property values, especially in the Scottish capital’s New Town district.

The CIH said there were concerns that properties leased to holidaymakers through Airbnb could eventually become permanent short-term lets, squeezing local people out of the market.

The institute has called for a cap on the number of short-term lets in a given area, better data on short-term lets so that local councils can monitor their growth and location, and the introduction of what it called a “modest” local tourism tax to fund the local authorities’ efforts to track the development of short-term lets.

The review also noted fears that hosts might not comply with existing regulations covering things such as insurance, planning permission and fire safety.

CIH chief executive Terrie Alafat said that while platforms such as Airbnb had been a boon for tourists there was the potential for much-needed housing from the private rented sector being lost to the short-term lets market, as well as the displacement of long-term residents if such lets were left unregulated.

“We need to find a way to accommodate the housing needs of individual residents while allowing tourism to continue in our most popular locations. More regulation could be necessary if growth continues and local authorities still have no way to accurately monitor numbers,” Alafat added.