A new report has been produced that raises concerns about the proliferation of Airbnb and other short-term rental platforms in the city, and its effects on residents and local communities.
The report, written by academics, journalists and members of Greater Manchester Tenants Union and Greater Manchester Housing Actionfinds an annual growth rate of over 300% for Airbnb listings in Manchester between 2016 and 2020, and nearly 400% for entire properties.
If these trends had continued (before the arrival of the COVID pandemic), Manchester would have lost huge chunks of its housing stock to short-term rentals, and the report suggests that by the end of the decade, the sector in the short term could take 4,000 households a way.
With over 13,000 households on the waiting list for social housing, home sharing platforms such as Airbnb will massively worsen the current housing crisis.
The report focuses its analysis on the neighborhoods of foam side and the North district by showing in particular that the problems of incivility and disturbances in the neighborhood are increasing outside the town center and leading to the loss of family homes.
Whereas so far Manchester has only dealt with the problem of STLs in terms of the impacts of anti-social behavior and neighborhood disruption; The report links these issues to the wider impact short-term rentals are having on our housing market, with accommodation available for short-term visitors already above Manchester’s social housing priority list.
The report notes the growing dominance of Airbnb by professional landlords and agencies that manage properties on behalf of landlords, rather than “hosts” renting out guest rooms. Twelve such “management departments” exist in the city.
The research calls for greater regulation of the short-term rental market and for the Council to fully engage with affected communities.
……………………………..
The research was undertaken by Dr Luke Yates (University of Manchester), Dr Jonathan Silver (University of Sheffield), Andrea Sandor, Isaac Rose and Rowena Davis.
Comments are closed.