Landlords forced to install CCTV to stop partygoers taking over

DESPERATE homeowners are resorting to installing cameras in an effort to deter illegal Airbnb lockdown parties.

BBC broadcaster Hannah Fry recently discovered that the owners of a property rented by her family had fitted it with CCTV. ‘Renting a nice house in the country with my family for a holiday & just realised there are cameras right outside the bedrooms recording everything. I mean... that’s not okay, right? What would you do?’ she wrote on Twitter.

Under Airbnb’s rules, hosts must make it clear to a guest if there are any security cameras or other recording devices in or around the property.

In May, an Airbnb landlord discovered 12 revellers had sneaked into his flat for a lockdown party after watching his CCTV doorbell footage.

The landlord said he received a booking for the apartment in Notting Hill, West London, and warned the customer that only two people could be inside the property at once.

But he was woken at 1am by a call alerting him to activity outside the front door. In a CCTV clip from the doorbell, at least 12 people are seen sneaking inside the property.

Footage shows two men initially unlocking the front door, before a woman attempts to duck down below the camera to avoid being seen entering what became an illegal rave.

The problem has become so bad that even neighbours of Airbnb properties are installing cameras. One man claimed on social media that he has put cameras by his windows and front door because 22 of the 25 properties in his block were owned by the same person, who is letting them out for parties.