Disabled access home listed on Airbnb sparks anger

Residents in Hackney have said they are "absolutely disgusted" that a home meant for a disabled key worker was being rented to holidaymakers on Airbnb.

"Everyone is up in arms," said Mary Pimm from Victoria Park Community Association. "Peabody and Hackney Council have been slow about taking action."

Residents have reported seeing different people with suitcases coming and going from the specially-designed bungalow since September.

Hackney Council and Peabody, which manages the property, has said an investigation is under way. Airbnb has said it has suspended the rental listing.

BBC London met residents gathered outside the property with banners and signs as they called for the tenant to be evicted.

Ms Pimm said: "We're absolutely disgusted, because it's very difficult for people with disability problems to get appropriate homes."

BBC London was shown an advert which appeared to show the bungalow being marketed for £164 per night on the holiday rental website Airbnb.

Alan Bryce from Tenancy Fraud Forum said: "This is far from a victimless crime.

"The victims are the families in temporary accommodation. There are over 70,000 of families like that in London alone."

He said that across the capital, approximately 50,000 social homes were subject to some form of tenancy fraud.

A Hackney Council spokesperson said: "There are thousands of people across London who are in desperate need of an affordable home and we therefore treat any report like this extremely seriously.

"There is a criminal investigation into this property, which we are working with Peabody to support. The investigation means we cannot comment further at this stage."

A Peabody spokesperson said: "As a not-for-profit housing association with a strong social purpose, we are of course totally against anyone fraudulently obtaining affordable housing that's there to help people in genuine need.

"We treat all reports of this nature incredibly seriously and work with our partners across multiple agencies to recover these homes so they can be reallocated to those on the council's waiting list.

"We are carrying out an investigation into these particular allegations alongside partners."

Mr Bryce said online property rental companies could do a number of things to prevent fraudulent adverts from appearing on the sites.

"Airbnb should independently verify that a property is not social housing," he said.

A spokesperson for Airbnb said: "Hosting in social housing is often illegal and has no place on Airbnb.

"We have suspended the listing and are in touch with the local housing association to assist with their investigation.

"We have a clear process for local authorities to alert us to social housing fraud, and we remove these listings from our platform.

"We remind hosts to check and follow local rules for hosting, and we are committed to partnering with local authorities to tackle social housing fraud."

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