This new social housing agreement has been decided based upon a new data sharing agreement between the Cabinet Office and Airbnb. Many Birmingham residents may recognise Airbnb as popular marketplace business that allows property owners to rent their properties to travellers outside of the city.
Under this new agreement, tenants who are fraudulently subletting social housing will be identified and removed and this will mean families on waiting lists can get social houses faster. This is apart of the new initiative by the government to tackle tenancy fraud. While this new agreement will allow local councils to check social housing records against Airbnb listings as a way to effectively identity properties that are being manipulated by fraudsters.
As announced on the Birmingham council website, the Birmingham City Council will be working with Airbnb to remove listings that are operating without permission. So far, six potential cases of frauds have been discovered and identified across the city of Birmingham. Any fraudsters found to have been subletting on Airbnb will be subject to punishment such as fines, evictions and up to 2 years of imprisonment.
As cabinet member of housing Cllr Baber Baz has proclaimed,
“Every property that is fraudulently sublet in Birmingham deprives a family in genuine need of a safe place to live. We recovered 36 properties over the last year that were fraudulently sublet, and this agreement will allow us to continue to identify potential tenancy fraud and free up homes for families on waiting lists faster. Birmingham City Council is proud to be part of this innovative partnership and the wider effort to tackle public sector fraud.”
