Airbnb host register hailed as “fantastic step forward”

A proposal to introduce a national register of Airbnb hosts in a bid to curb rowdy behaviour by guests has been welcomed by a trade body. 

The proposal is contained in the government’s wide-ranging action plan to reduce incidents of anti-social behaviour with the aim of stopping short-term lets “importing anti-social behaviour into communities”. 

The plan speaks of noise problems, drunken behaviour and disorderly conduct associated with the proliferation of larger properties used by Airbnb tenants, and it proposes the creation of a new registration scheme that would provide councils with the data to identify short-lets in the local area.

Now Andy Fenner, chief executive of the Short Term Accommodation Association - which speaks for some suppliers in the short let sector - says: “This is a fantastic step forward for the short term rental industry. We have long been campaigning for a national registration scheme so we see this as a huge win. 

“Tens of thousands of hosts will be celebrating this announcement too. The vast majority of holiday let owners are small businesses, not casual landlords, working hard to give themselves a better retirement. A registration scheme will create a hostile environment for the small number of low quality and poorly managed properties that give the industry a bad name. 

“We believe this is the first step on the road to setting the nation’s short term rental industry apart as a world leader, which will also help underline its value to UK tourism and the economy.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was questioned on the issue earlier this week at a public meeting in Essex where a resident explained of problems linked to a former pub that is now a large Airbnb rental.

The resident said: “These places are let by the owners to groups of people with no control whatsoever. They can come in and they can use the facilities there – in this particular case they have 10-person hot tubs and karaoke rooms.

“Anti-social behaviour and especially noise nuisance can go on through the night and there is no restriction, and I think they really should be addressing the problem these are causing with maybe some regulations coming in.”

Sunak replied: “Let me take that away. I’ve got a feeling we are looking at that, from memory.”

In June last year the government formally launched a review into the effect of short-term holiday lets in a bid to improve the holiday letting market for those living in popular tourism destinations.

A scheme, proposed in the review, could involve physical checks of premises to ensure regulations in areas including health and safety, noise and anti-social behaviour are obeyed.

Further measures the government was said to be considering at that time included a registration ‘kitemark’ scheme with spot checks for compliance with rules on issues such as gas safety, a self-certification scheme for hosts to register with before they can operate, and better information or a single source of guidance setting out the legal requirements for providers.