Airbnb and Kensington and Chelsea council to crackdown on council home sublets
By Hannah Neary, Local Democracy Reporter
Airbnb has revealed a plan to expose South London council tenancy fraudsters who are sub-letting their homes for profit.
The holiday rental company has teamed-up with Kensington and Chelsea council to tackle illegal short-term lets in the borough.
Airbnb will share payment data with the council in a bid to tackle social housing tenancy fraud, focusing first on two estates in North Kensington.
The council plans to free-up more homes for families on its waiting list by cracking-down on tenants who illegally rent their properties out.
The new system will provide the council with key evidence of payments relating to social housing that may be listed as holiday and short-term lets.
It is hoped the local authority will then be able to use this information to take legal action or criminal proceedings against alleged fraudsters.
The new data sharing project will take place under a court order due to GDPR requirements.
Officials will focus first on two estates in North Kensington but aim to stamp out illegal subletting in social housing throughout Kensington and Chelsea, where around 3,000 people are waiting for council homes.
The council’s lead member for housing Kim Taylor-Smith said: “There is a huge demand for social housing in our borough and it’s simply not fair that people in genuine need are being denied a place to call home because others are illegally subletting their council properties to make money.
“Tenancy fraud is not a victimless crime. It costs the public purse an average of £42,000 a year for each home and this welcome collaboration with Airbnb will help us to clamp down on it in our borough. If you have any information about tenancy fraud being committed in Kensington and Chelsea, get in touch.”
Theo Lomas, Airbnb’s head of government relations for Northern Europe, said: “Hosting in subsidised or social housing in the UK is illegal and has no place on Airbnb, and we want to work with councils to remove social housing from it.
“However the current situation is complex and costly, and requires a court order to avoid breaking GDPR rules.”
Tenancy fraud can be reported to the council’s housing investigations team on 020 7605 6401 or by emailing: tenancyfraud@rbkc.gov.uk
Pictured top: Airbnb property (Picture: Flickr)
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