{"id":6087414,"date":"2022-06-13T13:30:55","date_gmt":"2022-06-13T12:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.buyassociation.co.uk\/?p=6087414"},"modified":"2023-09-27T12:14:47","modified_gmt":"2023-09-27T11:14:47","slug":"5-things-short-term-lets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/news\/5-things-short-term-lets\/","title":{"rendered":"Short-term lets: five things to consider for Airbnb hosts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Short-term lets surged in popularity among investors and landlords as a result of the pandemic and the rise in staycations. But there are some considerations to take into account.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The outlook for short-term rentals<\/a>, which includes holiday homes and those let out under the popular platform Airbnb, has remained strong<\/a> through 2022. Bookings are reported to be stronger than ever, and property owners are confident this will continue over the coming years.<\/p>\n

There are multiple benefits<\/a> to letting your property out on a short-term basis. Returns have the potential to be significantly higher than long-term rentals, which is further enhanced by the recent growth in the number of people taking ‘staycations’ increasing demand.<\/p>\n

Furnished holiday lets are also treated differently for tax purposes, which can make short-term lets more advantageous to investors. For example, as Airbnb<\/a> points out, there is no restriction on mortgage interest relief, and capital allowances are available. You could also claim certain CGT reliefs.<\/p>\n

Five key factors for short-term lets<\/h4>\n

While the benefits are notable, there are certain things to consider before property investors<\/a> take on a short-term rental property. Phoenix Health & Safety<\/a> has come up with a list of five health and safety considerations for hosts.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Carbon monoxide alarms:<\/strong> These are not a legal requirement but many guests prefer properties that have them. \u201cIt\u2019s strongly advisable to have a CMD, not only for safety precautions but also not to deter potential guests. Furthermore, if your property has a fireplace, always ask guests to keep fresh air flowing throughout the property, and to crack the windows where necessary to avoid the build-up of carbon monoxide levels.\u201d<\/li>\n
  2. Smoke alarms on every floor:<\/strong> Phoenix advises carrying out a professional fire risk assessment before letting out a property. However, it’s imperative to provide adequate smoke alarms as well as fire extinguishers.<\/li>\n
  3. Fire-retardant furniture:<\/strong> All short-term lets should contain furnishings that are unlikely to become inflamed. “If you ignore this essential safety check and there are incidents related to this, you could face prosecution.”<\/li>\n
  4. Gas safety checks:<\/strong> This is required on an annual basis for all short-term lets by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Again, failure to comply with this could lead to prosecution. This even applies when renting one room out in a property.<\/li>\n
  5. Electrical safety:<\/strong> This isn’t covered by law, but if an electrical accident occurs it could lead to a negligence case, Phoenix warns. Things like wiring, cooking appliances, sockets and light fittings should all be checked regularly, as well as cookers and kettles.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    More legislation on the cards<\/h4>\n

    Nick Higginson, chief executive officer of Phoenix Health & Safety, points out that the Airbnb and short-term rental market<\/a> is relatively unregulated as it stands, but this could be set to change.<\/p>\n

    \u201cOver the coming years, we predict more processes and legislation will come into place to protect guests staying in Airbnb style accommodation to ensure that a similar health and\u00a0safety standard is upheld to that of which you would expect in a registered hotel or hospitality accommodation,\u201d says Higginson.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWhilst landlords\/hosts are expected to create a safe environment with reliable reviews, it is a relatively untouched market for legislation. Hosts may consider health and safety training to ensure they are fully equipped.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Despite this, though, property investors looking at diversifying into short-term lets will still find numerous benefits that could prove worthwhile compared to the traditional buy-to-let sector. This could depend on factors such as budget, time available and location.<\/p>\n

    BuyAssociation sources both long-term and short-term rental options for property investors across the UK. Browse some of our latest property investment opportunities<\/a> here, or get in touch<\/a> for more details.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Short-term lets surged in popularity among investors and landlords as a result of the pandemic and the rise in staycations. But there are some considerations to take into account. The outlook for short-term rentals, which includes holiday homes and those let out under the popular platform Airbnb, has remained strong through 2022. Bookings are reported… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1069,"featured_media":5025562,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,2],"tags":[183,437,486],"class_list":["post-6087414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alternative-investments","category-buy-to-let-landlords","tag-airbnb","tag-short-term-lets","tag-short-term-rental"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6087414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1069"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6087414"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6087414\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6096433,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6087414\/revisions\/6096433"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5025562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6087414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6087414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6087414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}