Entire home Airbnb listings in London have increased by 571% in 5 years: new research

Tom Simcock

Research output: Contribution to specialist publicationArticle (specialist)

Abstract

Around 2.8 million households across England casually rented out part of or their entire home on platforms such as Airbnb in 2017-18.

These platforms are part of the “sharing economy” and have opened up new avenues for tourism. Since its founding in 2008, Airbnb has enabled millions of “hosts” around the world to let out their spare space – whether this is an extra bedroom or an entire home.

In 2015, the UK government deregulated short-term rentals in London, allowing homeowners to share their home for up to 90 nights per year without planning permission. However, it is not just private homeowners who are taking advantage of this system.

Research has found that instead of offering their property as a longer-term rental, some landlords were moving their houses on to Airbnb where they can make higher profits. This raises concerns about the impact of short-term rental activity on housing availability and affordability in London.

In our new research at Edge Hill University, we looked at the growth of Airbnb activity in London to understand in greater depth how properties are being shared on the platform – and by whom. Using data provided by InsideAirbnb and author and researcher Tom Slee, we analysed the Airbnb platform for listings in London between 2014-19.
Original languageEnglish
Specialist publicationThe Conversation
Publication statusPublished - 9 Dec 2021

Keywords

  • Airbnb
  • Private rented sector
  • Landlord
  • Housing
  • Investment

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