Labour has announced a partnership with Airbnb to help councils find social housing tenants who are illegally subletting their homes.
Under the agreement, which was announced on Wednesday, the Cabinet Office’s Public Sector Fraud Authority will share data with Airbnb to allow councils to compare social housing records with listings on the platform.
Listings found to breach tenancy rules can be removed, while tenants could face eviction, fines or a prison sentence of up to two years.
Government said the arrangement is the first time a short-term rental platform has shared data directly with ministers to help detect social housing fraud.
The scheme will begin with councils across London, as well as Edinburgh City Council, Birmingham City Council and Anglesey Council. More than 450,000 homes will be included.
Ministers said early checks had revealed 470 potential cases of fraud. They estimate around 5,800 social homes in England are being illegally sublet through short-term rental platforms, with each case costing taxpayers an average of £78,300.
News of the partnership follows a pilot launched in 2024. During a trial, Westminster City Council identified a tenant who had rented out a council flat in Soho on Airbnb for more than a year while living in France.
The tenant was fined £12,890 and the property was returned to the council for a family on the housing waiting list.
Cllr Elizabeth Campbell, Leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council, said: ‘This council has long called for short-term letting platforms to share the data needed to identify illegal subletting and stop people profiteering from publicly funded homes, so we strongly welcome this agreement with Airbnb.’
‘We recovered 20 fraudulently let properties over the last year, and every one of those was a home taken away from a deserving household in genuine need of a safe, secure place to live,’ she continued.
‘Our message is clear: social homes are not private income streams and there is no hiding place for anyone abusing the system. We will keep rooting out illegal subletting and returning homes to those most in need.’
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