Pressure is mounting on Airbnb and Booking.com in London, as thousands of properties in the West End are reportedly being rented out on a short-term basis in violation of existing regulations.
The new leader of Westminster City Council, Paul Swaddle, has sent a letter to the two platforms requesting their immediate cooperation in putting an end to illegal short-term rentals, including council-owned properties that are listed on the platforms.
According to the letter, there are approximately 13,000 short-term rental properties in Westminster, more than 10,000 of which are entire homes or apartments. Of these, more than 2,700 are estimated to exceed the legal limit of 90 rental days per year.
Under UK legislation, homeowners in London are allowed to rent out their property for up to 90 days per year. If this limit is exceeded, penalties and fines may be imposed, which can reach up to £20,000.
Paul Swaddle stated that local residents have been dealing with problems caused by breaches of the 90-day limit for years, citing incidents of noise, parties, and abandoned rubbish, with insufficient accountability being taken by tenants, property owners, or the platforms themselves.
At the same time, he called for council-owned properties to be removed from the platforms, arguing that the terms of their tenancy agreements do not permit short-term letting.
Airbnb, which was founded in 2008, has repeatedly been at the center of discussions about the impact of short-term rentals on the housing market and rental prices. Although the company enforces a 90-day booking limit for properties in London, a BBC investigation reported that some hosts circumvent the system by using multiple accounts.
Swaddle also points out that legislation establishing a short-term rental register in the United Kingdom has already been passed, but has not yet been implemented. He is also calling on the government to require platforms to share data with local authorities on the number of nights each property is rented, in order to facilitate compliance monitoring.
The issue has gained further significance following the authority granted to the Mayor of London to introduce a tourist accommodation levy on visitors to the city, which would apply to both hotels and short-term rental properties.
In 2023, a study conducted by Westminster City Council found that 90% of the 118 apartments in the Forset Court complex, near Hyde Park, were being used for tourist accommodation.
In a statement, Airbnb said that it fully supports the 90-day limit and is in ongoing discussions with Westminster City Council regarding the implementation of a short-term rental registration system in England. The company also noted that it operates a “notice-and-take-down” process through which local authorities can flag suspected illegal listings.
For its part, Booking.com argued that short-term rentals meet genuine needs within the travel market, but emphasized that any related regulations should take into account the needs of local communities as well as those of property owners, platforms, and consumers.
