Holidaymakers being evicted from Airbnbs

Home rental website criticised as lettings
fall foul of new rules in growing number of countries

One-Minute Read

The home-sharing site “is said to be allowing houses to be
listed in countries where many short-term holiday lettings have
been restricted or banned”, reports The Sun.

Airbnb has surged in popularity since launching
in 2008 and now lists more than five million properties across 191
countries.

But the company has been “facing legal battles in
cities around the world”, with “many introducing tough
regulations”, says The Guardian – and it “appears that
holidaymakers are being caught in the crossfire”.

According to the Daily Mail, some tourists “are arriving at
properties to find ‘No Airbnb’ signs posted inside the buildings,
security guards who want to interrogate them and a hostile
reception from other residents”.

In the worst scenarios, “guests are being denied
entry to properties or even evicted by police part way through
their stay”, the newspaper says.

Japan is the latest country to introduce stricter
regulations on Airbnb. This month the site was forced to withdraw
tens of thousands of listings from its site and cancel reservations
ahead of a new law clamping down on private residences, says
The Daily Telegraph.

“This announcement came as a surprise to us. It
was contrary to the guidance our team had previously been given by
the Japanese Tourism Agency and put the travel experiences of
thousands of visitors to Japan at risk,” Airbnb said in a statement
reported by Reuters.

From next month, the Majorcan capital
of Palma will ban apartment owners from renting their properties to
tourists, says The Sun. Under the new rules, anyone
trying to rent out an apartment on a short-term basis could be
fined up to €40,000 (£35,000).

Meanwhile, in Paris listings for entire homes in
the centre of the city – the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th arrondissements
– can only be for a maximum total of 120 nights a year.

In Madrid, proposed rules announced last month “will
prevent properties from being rented out via Airbnb for more than
90 days a year”, reports The Guardian.

Governments
and local residents in these areas blame Airbnb and other
short-term rental companies “for pricing out long-term renters and
sidestepping the regulations and taxes imposed on hotels and
registered apartments”, says the Telegraph.



But Airbnb insists it works with local officials to implement
regulations.



A spokesman told the Daily Mail: “Airbnb has already worked with
500 government authorities on measures to help families share their
homes and follow the rules, and we’ll continue to expand this as we
grow, ensuring everyone benefits from the rewards of home
sharing.”