Here at StudentTenant.com, we've highlighted the growing number of students using the holiday season to boost their student loan, by renting their empty room on Airbnb whilst they have returned home to their families for Christmas.
Between the high expenses of the Christmas season and students returning home for family time, an opportunity arises perhaps to kill two birds with one stone - sub-letting student accommodation via platforms like Airbnb in order to make up the expenses of this costly time of year.
This appears to be the perfect solution, but there are a number of problems with renting out a property when you do not actually own it. For starters, the majority of tenancy agreements do not allow sub-letting without the consent of the landlord. As a result, the landlord must be notified and it becomes their decision.
But a number of tenants still host without speaking with their landlord. Over the past year, StudentTenant.com has detected an increase among landlords that have seen their property on Airbnb or a similar platform, or found that the tenant has sub-let the property via the online platform, without any prior knowledge or discussion. It begs the question of how many other properties have been rented out without getting caught?
It can be dangerous to let a stranger in your house, despite the simple verification process involved in opening an Airbnb account. Roommates, neighbours and valuables all have to be considered in sub-letting a rented property. In addition, there are liabilities with insurance as well, especially if the landlord is unaware that a person who is not on the lease is staying in the house. Not to mention, the tenant is gambling with their renting reputation for future leases.
On Airbnb’s website, they give tenants advice on how to speak to their landlord about becoming a host, and what issues need to be addressed before putting the property online. They recommend looking at the lease, speaking with neighbours and learning the rules of the building. Although Airbnb does offer a £600,000 Host Guarantee, it does not act as homeowners or renters insurance and has a list of limitations depending on what country the property is located in.
Comment from Danielle Cullen, Managing Director of StudentTenant:
“Students can be strapped for cash and it doesn’t help during this busy season, but subletting a rental property is not the solution. Not only can it be a liability for your roommates and your belongings, but it can lead to serious insurance problems for your landlord, especially if they don’t know about the person renting. It also goes against most leases, which is a breach of a legal document.Of course, we can sympathise with the students, but we must emphasise that it is neither a safe nor legal route to take when trying to make a few extra pounds.
In the case of a landlord discovering that a tenant is subletting their rented space, there is a three step process that needs to be addressed. The first is to speak directly with the tenant. It could be as simple as not understanding that the tenancy terms are being broken. If the advertisement remains active, the next step is to speak with the sub-tenants or the subletting platform in order to seek further action. Finally, if nothing changes, the landlord may only be left with legal action against the tenant.”