Airbnb ruling
Planning to make a quick buck renting your place to Adele fans this month? Or visiting rugby crowds later in the year? Think again.
The Tenancy Tribunal has ruled that sub-letting a rental property on Airbnb is in breach of the Residential Tenancies Act.
It found in favour of Wellington-based property manager Keith Powell, that his two tenants had breached both the Residential Tenancies Act and the Tenancy Agreement for subleasing the property via Airbnb.
But while the couple made $1568 from hosting guests, the Tribunal only awarded $1000 to the property owners for ‘‘mental distress’’, and exemplary damages of $300 as a deterrent from doing it in the future.
Powell said enough was enough. ‘‘If tenants are knowingly putting the accommodation in the hands of groups that have not signed the Tenancy Agreement, and making a profit, then I don’t think a $300 fine is going to stop anyone,’’ he said.
The owners of the property were travelling and returned immediately upon learning their fully furnished home had played host to more than seven different groups.
Powell said they were ‘‘quite over-wrought’’ thinking that people had been living in their home that their property manager had not had the opportunity to vet and approve on their behalf.