Can I sublet on Airbnb as a tenant without permission

Can I sublet on Airbnb as a tenant without permission

13:30 PM, 16th September 2015, About 9 years ago

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I rent a flat. The landlord has not given me permission to sub let.permission

I want to put the flat on airbnb and occasionally have airbnb guests staying in the flat when I am not there. I have not asked the landlord whether they will allow this.

I would like to know:

a) Will I be in breach of the lease with the landlord? I.e. will allowing airbnb guests to stay in the flat for an odd weekend here and there count as subletting?

b) If so, what can the landlord realistically do if they find out that I am in breach of the lease? e.g. can the landlord evict me for being in breach/take my deposit /sue me for damages?

c) How can I best protect myself in this situation from any liability to the landlord?

Many thanks

Nadia


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Comments

Puzzler

14:21 PM, 16th September 2015, About 9 years ago

Answer to point (c) is don't do it

You would probably be in breach of your AST, the head lease, the buildings insurance as a minimum. You would probably be in breach of airbnb's Ts and Cs as you would be renting something that does not belong to you.

The landlord would also be in breach of his/her mortgage by your actions

Wait until you have your own property as you would be obtaining money you're not really entitled to.

I would not want you as a tenant, you are boasting about being deceitful and one of those who gives tenants a bad name

Dr Monty Drawbridge

17:58 PM, 16th September 2015, About 9 years ago

Hi Nadia,

If you tell us the full address of the property we should be able to give you some definitive answers.

Dr MD

Steven Burman

10:37 AM, 17th September 2015, About 9 years ago

Nadia

You shhould listen to the advice given by Puzzler. This is the kind of deceiptful action that angers reputable landlords. What happens when the property gets damaged? Are you prepared to pay for repairs? If not, you will undoubtedly lose some or all of your deposit and could be liable for additional costs. Is it worth the risk?

Howard Reuben Cert CII (MP) CeRER

10:37 AM, 17th September 2015, About 9 years ago

You could also inadvertently be placing your landlord / the property owner in breach of his mortgage conditions too.

Most BTL mortgages stipulate that a tenant must be contracted under an AST only.

Airbnb is a huge and global phenomenon and I have carried out a lot of research recently, even talking with their Head Office in Ireland re mortgage availability.

This is more of a 'holiday let' / guest house / commercial proposition than a standard BTL with an AST and the lenders (in the main) don't like it.

Your thoughts about breaching the AST terms are not only possibly going to have detrimental repercussions for you, but you could affect your landlords position as well.

In summary; the answer to (c) is simply - don't do it in the first place.

Lewis Hardwick

10:41 AM, 17th September 2015, About 9 years ago

Hi,

As a tenant my AST is very clear about not allowing paying guests to stay at the property. I would expect yours to have something similar.

If I were a landlord, I would not be impressed with the actions of a tenant listing a property on AirBnB without my permission. You are effectively allowing someone who has had no background checks credited out on them, into the property. I doubt any landlord insurance would cover the potential problems that could arise.

tony barker

11:25 AM, 17th September 2015, About 9 years ago

whats your real name I would make sure you never get near my property its people like you that cause all renting problems

Mark Crampton Smith

11:59 AM, 17th September 2015, About 9 years ago

The real issue is one of insurance........ Your Landlord will have landlord insurance, and that will cover him, and anyone who has a legal right to occupy the building. If, and I am playing devils advocate here..... your Airbnb guest leaves a candle burning on a window sell whilst taking a bath, and a gust of wind sets fire to the curtains, and there is significant damage to the flat as well as the flat above rendering them uninhabitable until rebuilt (to say nothing of the water damage to the flats below) Your landlords insurance upon investigation (via the fire service log) might decide that your landlord is not covered. Your landlord is then likely to pursue you for your loss, and you could spend the rest of your life paying off the debt?
Is it worth the risk? Not in my book!

Luke P

12:02 PM, 17th September 2015, About 9 years ago

Don't expect to remain a tenant in your property for long (even if you decide to stop the practice) -the landlord just wouldn't want the risk.

And to think the Government were considering allowing all PRS tenants to sub-let regardless of permission...!

Dr Monty Drawbridge

13:04 PM, 17th September 2015, About 9 years ago

When looking into what sort of rent I could gent on AirBnB I found a lovely flat in my street which looked rather familiar. Which turned out to be because it was mine. It appeared to have been done once or twice for a weekend (there were two reviews and no availability showing in the future).

I know they were not doing it regularly and were properly living there so I wrote a very brief but uncharacteristically stern email. They apologised profusely saying they had not really thought about being an issue. That was that.

But yes - apart from anything else it put me in breach of mortgage and insurance conditions.

Luke P

14:24 PM, 17th September 2015, About 9 years ago

The Government should introduce legislation that immediately makes a tenant without a sub-letting agreement in place liable to three times the amount accepted upon sub-letting.

Funny how it's always one-sided...

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