Controversial adverts on the London tube which aimed to persuade landlords to switch to short-term Airbnb-style lets were due to be taken down at the weekend.
The Hostmaker adverts, which suggested that landlords could make 30% more by ditching long-term tenants in favour of short-term, had been labelled ‘toxic’ by objectors.
Generation Rent said that the adverts fed “the narrative that tenants are disposable and that profiteering from property is more important than providing long-term homes”.
Its petition to have the adverts axed by London mayor Sadiq Khan was signed by over 8,000 people.
Campaign group 38 Degrees also called for Hostmaker’s “distasteful tube ad” to be removed from all Transport for London sites.
Even the Residential Landlords Association backed calls for the adverts to be removed, and criticised the movement of homes from the long-term to short-term lettings sector as “damaging to communities” – although some landlords said the RLA should not try to tell them what to do with their properties.
At first Hostmaker defended the adverts saying that in a cosmopolitan city like London, “there is always going to be a need for a range of housing and rental solutions”.
However, last Friday evening, Nakul Sharma, Hostmaker CEO, announced a climbdown – although he repeated almost word for word the earlier defence.
He said: “We are sorry for the concern caused by our recent ad campaign and we acknowledge the tone was misguided.
“The adverts will be coming down this weekend and we will be reviewing all future creatives with our partners.
“In a cosmopolitan city like London, there is a need for a range of housing and rental solutions to meet the needs of the wide variety of residents and visitors in our capital city.
“Whilst it’s critical that there is plenty of affordable housing stock available, our portfolio is made up of premium homes in zone 1 and 2 postcodes and does not take affordable housing stock away from the market.
“We are here to meet the needs of Londoners and visitors to the capital who would prefer to stay in a high quality, furnished and managed home service.
“We provide a flexible lettings model to home owners of these type of properties; blending long-term, mid-term and short-term rentals to suit market demands and help home owners weather the current slump in rent prices and property sales, ensuring they aren’t left with gaps in the year when their property is standing empty.”
Comments (6)
An appalling story. Absolutely shameful. They spend years telling us we’re not wanted, have to leave the sector, a blight on society etc, then as soon as someone promotes the alternative they get all upset and shout about how it should all be long-term tenancies! I suggest landlords do whatever they want with their houses, which the way things are going probably means best leaving them empty!
The more houses which are left empty as a result of campaigning by Shelter and Generation Rent, the more I can charge for my property. My thanks to both Shelter and Generation Rent for their campaigning.
Is this Country becoming a dictatorship. Who is in charge of housing? Looks like Shelter and G Rent currently.
Outrageous response to legitimate advertising for a legitimate service by private business people. Anyone would think they’d been racist or sexist or promoted murder. Instead, they were suggesting a way to make money from assets. As the guy said, it’s not his role to provide affordable housing in central London. The State has abrogated its role and then anti-landlord, anti-private business organisations – and the RLA! – are trying to dictate what individuals do with their private property. They slam us with unjust, absurd and unsustainable taxes, tie us up in regulations – the latest of which can mean we lose control over our property and hand it to a tenant whose only commitment has been to pay a month’s rent on it – and then try and prevent a possible way out of this straitjacket. If I wanted to go down the route of these holiday lets, I’d bloody well do it, adverts on the tube or no adverts on the tube. In fact, though, I don’t fancy all that work and trying to please demanding holiday-makers, but that’s besides the point.
The numpties at Generation Rent now complaining about the entirely foreseeable and widely predicted consequences of their incessant anti-Landlord campaigns i.e. Landlords exiting the PRS, a shortage of properties to rent, and higher rents.
PERHAPS SOMEONE FROM GENERATION RENT WOULD LIKE TO ENLIGHTEN US WHAT THEIR OBJECTIVES ARE, BECAUSE HELPING RENTERS IT AIN’T?
What next GR? Expropriation of all rental properties to prevent Landlords selling up?
One has to question who the RLA represent nowadays.