£100k fine for council flat sublet on Airbnb
Man who advertised hot tub apartment evicted after signing up more than 300 paying customers
A tenant who sub-let his council flat through Airbnb has been evicted and fined a record £100,000. Tony Harman, 37, had been advertising his home as a “cosy studio apartment” for rent in Victoria, central London, since 2013. The property, which featured a hot tub, amassed more than 300 online reviews before he was prosecuted by Westminster council. After a failed appeal, he was evicted and ordered to pay back £100,974 in unlawful profits.
‘We carry out tenancy checks, and monitor short-term letting websites for any potential illegal sublets’
A TENANT who sub-let his council flat through Airbnb has been evicted and fined a record £100,000.
Tony Harman, 37, had been advertising his home as a “cosy studio apartment” for rent in Victoria, central London since 2013.
The property, which featured its own hot tub, amassed more than 300 online reviews before he was prosecuted by Westminster council.
Harman used the name “Lara” when posting about the flat, but was caught out after his first name appeared among scores of online testimonials left by people who stayed there.
The council took him to court, and, after a failed appeal, he was evicted and ordered to pay back £100,974 in unlawful profits, according to The Times.
His case emerged as local authorities struggle to cope with a booming market in short-term online lettings, with council housing used to set up “popup” brothels and illegal raves.
In recent years concerns have been raised about firms such as Airbnb, Booking.com and House Trip being used for illicit purposes.
Airbnb host Elizabeth Sterling’s £2.5 million flat in Kensington, London, was “ruined” after a woman rented it and hosted a party attended by “hundreds” of people in January.
The company said it had “zero tolerance for this kind of behaviour” and that it had suspended the guest who made the booking from the platform while it investigated.
Westminster council has set up a housing standards task force to tackle rogue landlords and lettings as it investigates more than 1,500 cases over short-term rental issues.
They have also proposed a system in which householders would be obliged to obtain a code before being able to list their property for rent online. The council has previously found it difficult to gather evidence to prove that landlords are breaking the government’s 90-night limit on short-term letting.
Other cities have also cracked down on rogue landlords using Airbnb, with a tenant who sub-let her Paris flat ordered to pay nearly £42,000 to her landlady last year.
Berlin, San Francisco, Palma de Majorca and Amsterdam have cracked down on Airbnb and similar services. Japan has also introduced stricter regulations.
Andrew Smith, Westminster council’s cabinet member for housing services, said: “It’s illegal for council tenants to sub-let their homes and we carry out tenancy checks, as well as monitoring short-term letting websites for any potential illegal sublets.
“We’re also pressing government to introduce a national registration scheme to make it far easier for us to take action against anyone who breaks the rules on short term letting. Last year, Westminster successfully recovered 24 social housing properties from fraudsters… they can now be allocated to residents in need of a new home.”
British users posted 168,000 active Airbnb listings between July 2016 and July 2017, according to a briefing paper for parliamentarians.
A spokesman for Airbnb said: “This property was removed from Airbnb earlier this year. We regularly remind hosts to check and follow local rules – including on subsidised housing – and we take action on issues brought to our attention.”