Using Your Property as an Airbnb

Coming into summer you may be thinking about letting out your holiday home or bach through Airbnb. This can be a great way to cover your property expenses over the summer months or to fund your own holiday - if you know what you're getting into.

Before you go down the Airbnb route, you need to make sure that you understand the differences between a residential tenancy and an Airbnb arrangement. Otherwise, you may need to comply with the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

This legislation applies to all tenancies for a person's occupation, except in the limited circumstances set out at section 5 of the Act. These include where the property is used for temporary or transient accommodation of up to 28 days, or where the property is let for the tenant's holiday purposes.

If the arrangement between you and your tenant falls outside the exception at section 5 then it will be a residential tenancy and you must comply with the legislative requirements. These include the healthy homes standards, having a valid tenancy agreement and restrictions on terminating the tenancy.

Come and talk to us before you fly into it to ensure that you don't get any nasty surprises.

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