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March 29, 2024, 12:28:29 AM

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The Airbnb twats are back (FAO Embra peeps)

Started by Blue Jam, September 08, 2021, 11:51:31 AM

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Blue Jam

Lockdown is over and while the pubs are letting people back in, so are the greedy bastard Airbnb hosts. Got to sleep late last night after the first post-lockdown late-night weekday drunken Airbnb party in a flat the owner very definitely only rents to "families and older couples".

Really just posting to share this:

https://consultationhub.edinburgh.gov.uk/sfc/short-term-let-consultation/

Embra City Council may finally be taking action to make short-term let owners apply for planning permission, with the threat of it being revoked and a fine if their guests keep waking up residents with drunken singing, dragging wheely cases up echoey communal stairs at 5am, leaving the front door wedged open, drunkenly trying their key in the wrong flat door at 2am etc. Anyway, you might want to fill this in before Airbnb's "hosts" spam it with pleas not to change the rules because Airbnb is wonderful and everybody loves them.

George Oscar Bluth II

Have a friend who lives in the same building as a couple of Airbnb's and it sounded like a total fucking nightmare pre lockdown tbh. People hammering on the door or trying the locks in the middle of the night cos they forgot which one they're staying in, parties midweek, the aforementioned wheelie suitcases in the corridors at 5am. Fucking grim really. Stay in a hotel you cunts.

dissolute ocelot

They're not proposing a ban on short-term lets, just requiring owners to get permission from the council. The effect totally depends on how the council decides each application - they could be really strict and ban almost all short-term lets in otherwise residential buildings, or just let anyone do it anyway, or something in the middle. I'm also not clear what the rules are for rescinding permission once an application has been granted. So it might improve things, but it's far from a guarantee.

Blue Jam

Yes, I know it's not a ban, and I'm not confident it'll end all the problems, but a crackdown on short-term lets in Barcelona, with fines, illegal lets being shut down etc did seem to have some effect. Here's hoping.

Sebastian Cobb

Embra council typically seems to have the same "this place is for the tourists" attitude as Dublin. Good luck.

touchingcloth

It's a tricky one as I think most people would support a ban on the "wrong" type of short-term let, i.e. buy-to-let cunts operating unregulated B&Bs by the back door, whilst wanting the "right" kind to be able to carry on, i.e. people letting spare rooms out, or entire flats/houses if they're away for a long time.

Edinburgh festivals are an interesting case, as to my understanding city locals leaving the city for the summer and making bank by renting their flat to Richard Herring has been a thing for 20 plus years, and probably not too many people would begrudge them the desire to get out of the city and make some cash in the process. I can't think of any easy equivalents where there's such an easily-defined period where an entire city's makeup changes so significantly. It happens for short periods and in the arse end of nowhere for festivals, or longer, fuzzier periods in major cities during peak summer/backpacking periods. But for an entire city to be consumed for three weeks is unique to Edinburgh. Maybe.

There's probably a solution to be had along the lines of how tax residency is determined, and only allowing "short term" lets to be offered for X number of days of the year, or making a distinction between lets of someone's first rather than their second(+) home(s). It's not at all hard to make that distinction, if there's a political will for it. Which is a big if, ofc.

Icehaven

It's a great example of why an ostensibly OK idea is ruined because a significant percentage of people are guaranteed to be uncivilised and inconsiderate. Leaving aside the wider aspects of it contributing to the housing shortage or the backdoor b&bs etc, there's nothing wrong with renting rooms or flats to holidaymakers at all, if they could behave, be quiet and bear a passing thought for the neighbours, but given that's beyond what too many people can manage any time, and particularly when they're in holibobs mode and the world's their playground, it's a fucking shit idea.


imitationleather

The flat next to mine was an AirBnB a couple of years ago and it was a total nightmare for the reasons you state. Because I live on Newcastle Quayside it was an absolute magnet for stag and hen weekends who had absolutely no concept of normal people living here. Fortunately everyone in the building got together and complained to the freeholder, and now AirBnB isn't allowed. I was genuinely surprised that worked as I thought they'd tell us to fuck off so they could turn all the other flats into AirBnBs too.

canadagoose

Thanks Blue Jam, I'm filling it in now. Our building doesn't seem to have many AirBnBs for some reason but we do have wanker neighbours all the same. Wish I could hire the swans to peck them or something.

Goldentony

are there any rules against setting up a bluetooth speaker that shouts CONFESS every 15 minutes at them