More than 1,000 Airbnb listings in London were duplicated by landlords creating multiple adverts for the same property to evade the 90-night annual short-term letting limit and continue renting year-round. Photo-matching software analyzed images from 37,000 'entire' home adverts and identified about 1,300 listings that reused identical photos of furniture, rooms and decor from other supposedly unique listings. The 90-night rule aims to protect rental housing supply while allowing occasional income. Renters report reduced supply and rising prices; Airbnb disputes its effect on rents and says it acts on reports when hosts evade rules.
"In the capital, homes can be let - often to tourists - for up to 90 nights a year without planning permission, a rule meant to protect London's housing supply. But many landlords are creating multiple listings for the same property, switching to a new one once the limit is reached in order to illegally keep renting the property for short-term lets all year."
"London - one of Airbnb's largest markets in the world - is the only area in the UK which restricts lets to tourists for a maximum of 90 days. The policy is designed to enable people to earn a bit of extra money from their homes when not in use, while protecting rental housing supply for people like Ciaron Tobin."
"To get a snapshot of the current situation, BBC Verify developed photo-matching software which analysed images from 37,000 adverts for "entire" homes on Airbnb in London on a single day. The investigation found about 1,300 listings had reused identical images - such as the same furniture, rooms and decor - from other supposedly unique listings."
Read at www.bbc.com
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