mind before one elects to adapt one ’ s residential letting practices to accord with this archetype of technological progress .
Firstly , for those owners considering listing flats which fall within sectional title schemes , it is important to first determine whether their particular scheme allows short-term letting , since many expressly prohibit the practice and , where this is the case , to do so would contravene the body corporate rules . Even where short-term letting is , in fact , allowed , owners must ensure that prospective guests are provided with a copy of the applicable conduct rules , and that they agree to be bound by these rules prior to finalising their booking — since , in the event of non-compliance , it is the owner who will be liable for any breaches , and not the tenant . Conveniently , Airbnb makes provision for hosts to add their own tailor-made ‘ House Rules ’, which I would suggest owners utilise by adding a full set of the conduct rules applicable to their scheme-at-large .
Secondly — and following on from the first point — it is imperative when listing your property on
If you are a tenant who wishes to sub-lease your property , you must first ensure that your lease agreement allows you to do so , or whether you are first required to obtain your landlord ’ s written authorisation .
Airbnb to draw up a detailed tenancy agreement which would serve as a short-term lease . This should make provision for deposit and payment terms , cancellation policies , breakages , and how the guest would deal with complaints , inter alia . As with any ordinary residential property rental , the rights and responsibilities of both parties should be clearly and comprehensively delineated from the outset . Although Airbnb has its own ‘ Host Protection Insurance ’ — which covers owners against third party claims of property damage or bodily injuries up to $ 1 million — this is only available in 15 countries at present , excluding South Africa .
Thirdly , if you are a tenant who wishes to sub-lease your property , you must first ensure that your lease agreement allows you to do so , or whether you are first required to obtain your landlord ’ s written authorisation . Should you fail to obtain the requisite permission , or should your lease expressly prohibit sub-letting , by listing your property on Airbnb you would be committing a material breach of your lease , and your landlord would , in such circumstances , be entitled to terminate your lease , which could have disastrous consequences should you , and your Airbnb guest , face eviction .
Lastly , over the past year or two , a plethora of self-titled ‘ Airbnb rental partners ’ have cropped up offering various services to hosts , such as the preparation and marketing of host listings on third-party platforms ( that is , apps or websites such as Airbnb ), interacting with potential guests , and managing professional cleanings , etc . This particular kind of agent operates in a similar way to rental agents who procure and manage longer-term lease relationships , only many work exclusively with Airbnb properties . Just as hosts are now finding an easy way to rent out properties by side-stepping licensing requirements , so too is it inevitable that many of these particular agents will be practicing without any accreditation . Although the Estate Agency Affairs Act dictates that nobody may perform any act as an estate agent without a valid fidelity fund certificate , it is becoming increasingly difficult to define ‘ estate agent ’ in this evolving landscape , and therefore policing the practice is now near-impossible , which in itself should sound a caution to both property owners and prospective ‘ Airbnb agents ’.
While the portal inarguably offers an inexpensive and innovative way for property owners and tenants to host short-term rentals , and to make extra money in the face of a rising demand for holiday accommodation , in popular tourist cities with housing shortages and sharply-rising real-estate markets — of which Cape Town is a prime example — one can ’ t ignore the destructive potential of Airbnb .
In San Francisco — where there have been numerous highly-publicized protests against Airbnb in recent time — the media have coined the term ‘ hotelization ’ to describe the numbers of seniors , families and low-income tenants who are being pushed out by the trend . Although the Atlantic Seaboard hasn ’ t quite seen the same level of disruption — at least not specifically attributable to Airbnb — anyone who has recently cast their eye out for a two-bedroom flat along Cape Town ’ s most sought-after strip will know that there is little to nothing on offer in the realm of ‘ reasonably-affordable ’ longer-term rentals , and what was once seemingly in abundance , has all but dried up .
RESOURCES
Marlon Shevelew and Associates
OCTOBER 2016 SA Real Estate Investor 25