UK Officials Call For Airbnb Crackdowns To Aid Housing Crisis

Liv Thomson

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The emergence of short-term vacation accommodation companies like Airbnb have worsened the UK housing crisis.

Tourist housing across the UK may be pushing rental prices higher and affecting housing shortages in cities across the country.

In May, proposals were set out by the government to change laws on holiday rentals, which would require Airbnb owners to obtain approval to make properties into short-term rentals.

However, rental prices have continued to increase exponentially. Private rental prices paid by tenants in the UK rose by 4.4 per cent in the 12 months to January 2023.

The Rise of Airbnb

Airbnb was founded in the US in 2008. It is now a global phenomenon, with its services being used in over 190 countries.

Some studies have found that Airbnb properties come in at around 30 per cent cheaper than hotels, making it an affordable and viable options for travellers.

“The whole system is broken.”

Labour MP Rachael Maskell says rent controls are the “only solution”, in places like her constituency in York, to address the housing crisis. pic.twitter.com/0e5eJirZ6B

— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) July 27, 2023

Airbnb is seen as an effective temporary home solution. However, according to Rachael Maskell, Labour MP for York, Airbnb is “fuelling” York’s housing crisis.

In a report, she claimed: “Housing should be a fundamental right, yet families are being left homeless while others exploit the housing stock for their own gain.”

London’s Housing Crisis

Over 80,000 properties in London alone are listed on Airbnb for short-term let for travellers or short-term tenants. However, there are currently 250,000 Londoners waiting for a home.

Homelessness has also been reported as “appalling” in London, with almost 170,000 people on the streets.

Airbnb rules state that a property may only be rented out for 90 days of the calendar year. But with suspicions that landlords and homeowners may be breaching these restrictions, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has called for a licensing system for short-term lets to be implemented.

Next Steps for the UK

Housing crisis campaign groups are reporting a rise in evictions notices issued by landlords in order for rented properties to be rebranded as holiday lets — it’s easy money for landlords, especially in tourist hotspots where the housing market is usually lucrative.

According to Airbnb’s own website, hosts in England make around £6k in extra income through renting.

However, with an increasing number of homes re-entering the market as short-term rentals rather than permanent housing solutions, families, key workers, and children are being forced out and into poorer living conditions.

Maskell believes more pressure should be placed on the government to “introduce a full licensing regime for short-term holiday lets.” She says this will battle exponential renting prices and afford accessible housing to long-term renters and home-buyers.

Tackling London’s housing crisis has been my priority since the day I took office.

We have got London building again, and not only that, we are charging ahead of the rest of the country.

But there is still a long way to go to fix the housing crisis. 1/2

— Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (@MayorofLondon) November 14, 2023

Khan is urging the Government to collaborate in the establishment of a licensing system for short-term lets. He hopes to empower local authorities to regulate the issuance of licenses in their respective areas, preventing entire streets or blocks from being exclusively dedicated to short-term lets.

“I am doing all I can to tackle the housing crisis in London, building a record number of the genuinely affordable, high-quality homes that Londoners deserve,” said Khan. “But these efforts will continue to be hampered by the lack of regulation in the short-term letting market.”

“London is one of the least regulated European cities when it comes to short-term lets.”

“Short-term lets play an important role in London’s tourism industry, but that mustn’t come at the expense of Londoners who need a place to live,” he added.

Professor Claire Colomb, from University College London, found that other European cities have begun to regulate short-term lets. She claims: “London is one of the least regulated European cities when it comes to STLs [short-term lets].”

In Portugal, for example, new licenses for Airbnb’s have been stopped altogether.

“In London, this would be best achieved with a licensing scheme,” said Colomb.

READ NEXT:

• THE NATIONWIDE STUDENT HOUSING CRISIS

• UNDERSTANDING ENGLAND’S HOMELESSNESS CRISIS

• THE ONGOING HOMELESS CRISIS IN THE UK

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Featured image courtesy of Stock Catalog via Flickr. No changes were made to this image. Image licence found here.