Fraudulent tenants of council apartments are raking in hundreds of pounds a day illegally subletting the properties out to short-term visitors.
Several council-leased flats in Pimlico are currently being advertised for up to £200 a night, in an almost certain breach of lease rules.
According to one listing on Airbnb, at least 174 people claim to have rented the apartment over a period of six months, generating a potential income of nearly £35,000 over six months.
The property has taken bookings for much of this year, with a minimum stay of two nights. The flat’s location is exposed by pictures showing the estate’s distinctive 20th century architecture, designed by Sir Edward Lutyens.
A resident on the estate, who did not wish to be named, told WT he had frequently noticed short-term letting activity, but that it takes months for rule-breakers to even be investigated by the council.
They added it had taken 18 months for the council to put a stop to one flat on the estate being rented out on Airbnb, even with guests depositing keys in lockboxes outside the property.
Short-term lets are prohibited in all leaseholds on the Grosvenor and Regency Estate, including those now acquired by residents through the Right to Buy scheme, which contain clauses preventing the home for being let out for stays of less than 90 consecutive days.
Other similar listings are being advertised in buildings on council-owned estates, including on the nearby Churchill Gardens Estate, where several apartments appear to be available to let for several nights at a time over several months.
One example, which can be matched to the estate by the windows shown in pictures, is a whole one-bedroom seventh floor apartment being offered for around £160 a night, advertised as being within easy access of central London and boasting river views.
Last month a court fined a tenant £500,000 for fraudulently acquiring a council home before subletting it over a period of two years, while he lived at his wife’s home in north London.
More than 13,000 homes are currently being let on a short-term basis across Westminster, many of which are legal, with private owners outside council estates permitted to rent properties to nightly visitors for up to 90 days a year in London.
According to government estimates, 5,800 social homes are suspected of being illegally sublet on short-term rental platforms across England, with each case of tenancy fraud costing taxpayers an estimated £78,300.
A data-sharing scheme between Airbnb and several participating local authorities including Westminster, aims to remove rule-breaking listings, with the threat of eviction, fines, and up to 2 years imprisonment for repeat offenders.
The boom in nightly letting comes amid a shortage of housing, with more than 3,800 families currently in temporary accommodation within Westminster and some 7,300 people on the waitlist for social housing, according to council figures.
Airbnb said it was participating in a data sharing scheme with Westminster City Council, but that the listings identified in this story had not been flagged by the local authority.
Thanks for flagging, I have asked the Short Term Lets team to investigate asap – we have a zero tolerance policy for letting on our estates as it is either a breach of the lease, or of the law if a social rent property.
Paul Swaddle – Leader Westminster City Council