Sam Phillips, a barrister in Five Paper’s Property Team obtained a final order for the recovery of over £100,000 of profit unlawfully obtained as a result of a tenant subletting his property via AirBnB in the case of City of Westminster v Harman.
At a hearing in which HHJ Luba refused the tenant’s application for permission to appeal an earlier possession order, the Designated Civil Judge for London considered the landlord’s application under section 5 of the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013 and made an award of the total sum claimed against the former Secure Tenant.
In a time of continuing budget cuts and financial uncertainty, social landlords appear to be placing ever greater emphasis on preventing the use of social housing for unauthorised private short-term rental and on using the full range of statutory tools to recover the profits of the same.
Sam was instructed by Tri-Borough Legal Services.