Council tenants who illegally sub-let their homes on Airbnb are at greater risk of being exposed after a landmark court ruling.
The online rental firm has agreed to share financial information with Kensington and Chelsea council after the High Court approved a system that removed the risk of both sides inadvertently breaching GDPR data protection rules.
The case arose after council officials became concerned that flats in blocks such as the Trellick Tower were being offered on Airbnb for short-term lets.
The new rules apply to two estates in north Kensington but could pave the way for wider collaboration across Kensington and Chelsea – and potentially enable Airbnb to share similar details with other local authorities seeking to crack down on tenancy fraud.
The court order will allow Airbnb to share with council fraud investigators the addresses of any properties in the two estates listed on its website – and details of any payments received for letting them out.
Across the UK, it is illegal to sub-let social housing on Airbnb.
Kim-Taylor Smith, Kensington and Chelsea’s lead member for housing, 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.”
Prior to the pandemic, Kensington and Chelsea had more than 2,500 homes available on Airbnb – the most of any London borough apart from Westminster – and more than 800 rooms.
Last month the council recovered four council homes from fraudsters, including a one-bedroom flat in Ladbroke Grove that was being sub-let to three tenants each paying £850 a month.
In another case, the tenant of a three-bedroom home in Knightsbridge was found to have lived in Turkey for the last two years.
