Knight Frank has raised a warning over Airbnb’s launch of its long-term rental marketplace to UK tenants.

The scheme will allow tenants to sublet their homes on a part-time basis, and debuts in London across nearly 1,500 flats in three properties owned by Greystar.

The programme connects renters with landlords willing to allow hosting under specific conditions, such as limits on rental days and agreements to share 10-25% of the hosting revenue with the landlord.

With Airbnb actively discussing with landlords to extend the scheme to other areas in the UK, Gary Hall, head of lettings at Knight Frank, warned: “Without proper verification, this initiative risks landlords being exposed to unauthorised property listings by tenants who do not have approval.

“To prevent potential abuse of the system, more robust security measures will be essential, extending beyond a simple landlord signature.” 

Hall added: “While most tenancy agreements prohibit subletting, it remains an issue and this initiative may inadvertently highlight it as an opportunity for some to exploit.”

Airbnb’s long-term rental marketplace was designed to address concerns over the platform’s impact on housing shortages and rising prices. 

The company debuted the scheme in 2022, when it initially partnered with 250 buildings in US cities such as Houston, Phoenix, Jacksonville and New York City to enable renters to lease out their apartments on a part-time basis through the platform.