Agenda item

Fiona Wilde made a statement to the Panel on the subject of tenancy agreements and Airbnb. A copy of the statement can be found on the Panel’s Minute Book, a summary is set out below.

She explained that her landlord had put her tenancy onto a month to month basis and had refused to issue her usual fixed term agreement for a year and that she is unable to get clarity as to why things have changed.

She said that they refuse to answer whether or not they are in the process of selling the place that has been her home for 8 years. She added that they say that they have no plans to run an Airbnb, but this does not rule out them selling the flat to someone else who will.

She stated that she feels as though she has no option but to look for somewhere else to live as soon as she can.

She explained that she knows she has the right to be issued with a Section 21 Order, which will give her 2 months and after that she could ask for more time, but if the intention is to evict me, what advantage is there in postponing the situation for the sake of it, as flats will become more scarce and more expensive.

She stated that she is living with the constant anxiety of knowing that the rug may be pulled out from underneath her at any time. She added that she knows that there are waiting lists for flats because the housing stock in Bath has become so depleted and that it is entirely possible that she will become homeless before she can find anywhere to live and that terrifies her.

She said that her boyfriend had spoken to a local Councillor recently and mentioned that he had put in a complaint about the Airbnb upstairs from me but hadn’t heard anything back. The Councillor said that the Council ‘just don’t have the resources’ to chase up complaints, or to verify whether Airbnb hosts are staying within the 90 day limit.

She stated that Airbnb’s promise of ‘living like a local’ is farcical. It is making those very locals homeless and is turning Bath into a kind of grotesque Georgian theme park where the privileged rub shoulders with tourists.

She asked the Panel what they would do in her position.

Councillor Liz Richardson thanked Fiona for her statement and said she had sympathy for the situation she is in. She asked whether she had looked at the Homesearch site as that has a number of options on it including Help to Buy schemes and Affordable Rent Properties.

Fiona Wilde replied that she hadn’t, but could not afford to purchase a property.

Councillor Colin Blackburn said that he understood her situation, but just for clarification explained that B&NES currently does not impose a 90 day limit on Airbnb properties. He added that he recognised it would be tough to leave a place that you have made your home for a number of years.

Fiona Wilde said that she felt that she deserved more respect and should be told of their intentions sooner rather than later to be given a fair chance.

Councillor Barry Macrae said that there was nothing that the Panel could do immediately for her, but he urged her to gather evidence of being a good tenant for the past eight years as that may help her when seeking a new place to live if she did have to move out.

The Chairman said that he could not imagine how it must feel with this possibility hanging over her. He thanked her being influential to the Council by raising the issue of Airbnb earlier in the year.