Very short term lets (such as those advertised on AirBnB and Booking.com) can bring many issues to developments such as anti-social behaviour, criminal damage, drug missuse. Whilst it is written into the leases that the lease prohibits these activities it is very difficult to detect and to police especially with the advent of lock boxes and smart locks to allow people into these apartments.
This has become a major problem in apartments in the city centres where people are looking to purchase or lease apartments and let them out through short term booking sites to make revenue. One company in particular in Birmingham has established a number of AirBnB sites throughout the city and is offering on sites such as AirBnB rentals in buildings where this is not permitted.
The traditional way of dealing with this was to trawl the sites and try and identify the apartments; or wait until there is an issue and the development finds out about the AirBnB through security firms and police intervening.
Urban Protect have been working with a number of developments to detect and tackle the Short Term Let problem.
Using the latest in AI technology we are now able to detect which apartments are utilised for these short term lets and then take decisive action.
We have just had major success in one property in Jupiter 3, Birmingham where we have identified the AirBnB and installed remote locking systems in the coridor to that property where we can remotely unlock the doors to the 4 residents who live in that coridor but restrict access to the AirBnB property.
The apartment in question had caused over £4k worth of costs from security firms and property damage to communal areas over the prevailing years as such the board were very pleased with our solution.
West Midlands Police have been very supportive and accept our position that if an tennancy agreement is in place with a named person for a minimum 6 month period (as it states in the lease) we will give the named person access upon proof of identity; but all other “guests” will be restricted.
This has eradicated this long term problem from this apartment; and now we are moving on to the next apartment that the system has identified.
Well done!