Bed & Breakfast News Issue #46 Spring 2018 | Page 20

20 | Bed & Breakfast News | Summer 2017
In 2017, a flat rented out on Airbnb in
Plymouth was called a “deathtrap” after
a fire inspection (following a complaint
by a member of the public) discovered
it had toxic tiles, faulty locks and a fire
extinguisher that had not been tested for
more than 15 years. The owner was given a
six-month suspended sentence.
Judge Ian Lawrie told the owner: “You have
created the risk of a potential death trap if
fire ever broke out. Whenever you rent out
a property in whatever circumstances there
is a clear obligation to ensure the fire safety
of everyone. There is certainly a risk of cost-
cutting at the expense of safety.”
Defending the Airbnb host, Nick Lewin, said
a lot of people advertised homes on Airbnb
with “complete and utter ignorance of fire
regulations”.
After the case Paul Bray, fire safety manager
for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue
Service, said: “Anyone who has or is thinking
of turning their home into a business
providing sleeping accommodation has a
duty to ensure the people staying on their
premises will be kept safe.”
Yet the “death trap” property would never
have been inspected by fire officers if a
member of the public had not made an
official complaint about it. How many of the
168,000 premises on Airbnb might also be
potential fire risks, yet remain unchecked?
Kate Nicholls of UK Hospitality (above)
said there was a large volume of evidence
suggesting that commercial landlords were
using online home-sharing sites to rent out
large properties all year round: “We are
potentially risking a Grenfell-type tragedy that
would be disastrous for families and further
damage our reputation as a safe, attractive
tourist destination.”
In March, MPs on the parliamentary group
for tourism said “all businesses offering
accommodation should compete on a level
playing field” when it comes to regulation.
But the B&B Association told the BBC there
was currently a “total and utter lack of
enforcement” of safety regulations in the
short-term lettings market. As the BBC
reported, our chairman David Weston said:
“The authorities only inspect high-risk Airbnb
style properties if someone complains, which is
hugely unlikely, or if there is a fire.”
David met the head of the Home Office fire
safety unit and the heads of the National Fire
Chiefs’ Council on 13th April for talks about
how the enforcement of fire safety rules can
be applied to Airbnb properties in the same
way as it currently only is to B&Bs.
The officials also agreed that the B&B
Association would be invited to help review
and replace the current Official Guidance
(Do You Have Paying Guests?), after the
Hackett Review reports on fire safety
enforcement post-Grenfell.