7% of landlords report using Airbnb or similar short term lets

7% of landlords report using Airbnb or similar short term lets

9:05 AM, 24th August 2017, About 7 years ago 2

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A survey of 1,500 landlords across the UK conducted by the RLA showed that 7% are now using Airbnb or similar sites to offer their properties as short term of holiday lets.

The RLA concluded from these figures that if this trend was consistent throughout the whole PRS then potentially 134,400 homes have been taken out of the housing stock as main residences.

The RLA are connecting this trend to Section 24 mortgage interest relief restrictions increasing the tax burden of offering Buy to Let property on long term ASTs. In fact 36% of the respondents offering short term or holiday lets said that Section 24 was the direct cause.

One landlord offering properties on Airbnb commented in the survey, ““I didn’t want to do this, but the tax changes have forced me down this route. Selling is not an option due to CGT, and this iniquitous tax which is effectively retrospective is unjust in that my buy to lets are a business, just like any other. There will be less properties available to rent as a result of this tax.”

The shift to using Airbnb and other types of short term let is particularly acute in London with a 75% increase in the number of multi-listings (more than one listing per individual) on Airbnb between February 2016 and March 2017.

David Smith, RLA Policy Director said: “With London and the country as a whole in desperate need of new homes to rent in the long term, it is crazy that recent tax changes encourage landlords to move to the short term holiday let market.

“What we need is a tax system that encourages investment in homes to rent for the long term by good landlords.

“By skewing the market Government policy will serve only to hit the hardest those young people and families who most need a growing private rented sector to meet their needs.”

The RLA along with Property118 and Axe The Tenant Tax are calling on the Government to end the perverse incentive landlords have to move to holiday lets by scrapping the mortgage interest relief changes.


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Comments

Howard Reuben Cert CII (MP) CeRER

9:59 AM, 26th August 2017, About 7 years ago

"The shift to using Airbnb and other types of short term let is particularly acute in London with a 75% increase in the number of multi-listings (more than one listing per individual) on Airbnb between February 2016 and March 2017."

We have been contacted by a lot of AirBnB hosts who have BTL mortgages on those properties, not realising that they are breaking the mortgage terms.

BTL mortgage offers state that the tenancy should be on an AST arrangement (6 months or more at a time) but of course AirBnB and other such 'holiday let' tenancies are very, very short term, and this is not what the lender allows.

If a property investor needs to finance these holiday let properties, we do know the lenders who will say yes, but the consequences of continuing to breach the banks mortgage conditions is not good. The penalties will far outweigh the extra money achieved by gaming the system.

If you want to go in to AirBnB (or similar) and you need to have a new mortgage, or replace an existing one (if it's not an eligible arrangement right now), the Brokers at H D Consultants can be reached via my profile link.

Howard Reuben

Bronwen Vearncombe

17:02 PM, 30th August 2017, About 7 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Howard Reuben at 26/08/2017 - 09:59
Completely agree with Howard. It's not worth getting found out and in this business you need to be honest and ethical. I have a recorded webinar on holiday lets and am very clear about the pros and cons. It's one of the most tax efficient ways to invest. Let me know if you'd like to get a copy.

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