Airbnb rentals ‘drive up crime rates’

Airbnb rental properties drive up crime rates, a study suggests.

Cambridge University has discovered a link between Airbnb locations and police-reported robberies or violent crimes in thousands of London neighbourhoods.

The team calculated that each additional Airbnb property is associated with a 2 per cent increase in the local robbery rate and around a 1 per cent increase in burglaries and violence.

They warn that a 10 per cent increase in Airbnb rentals in London would correspond to 1,000 more robberies across the capital each year.

Dr Charles Lanfear, of Cambridge’s Institute of Criminology, said: “While Airbnb offers benefits to tourists and hosts in terms of ease and financial reward, there may be social consequences to turning large swathes of city neighbourhoods into hotels with little regulation.

“We tested for the most plausible alternative explanations, from changes in police patrols to tourist hotspots and even football matches.

“Nothing changed the core finding that Airbnb rentals are related to higher crime rates in London neighbourhoods.”

Experts believe the increase is because of greater opportunities for crime. For example, a property that is regularly vacant is easier to burgle, while a temporary occupant without an emotional tie to the area is more likely to cause criminal damage.

Airbnb was founded in 2008 and there are now more than 500,000 properties listed in Britain, with over 91,000 in London alone. An estimated 4.5 million guests stayed in a London Airbnb during the period covered by the study.

Researchers looked at Airbnb data in small areas of London comprising around two thousands residents. They then mapped crime statistics from the Home Office and Greater London Authority (GLA) onto the zones.

They found that where Airbnb’s were present, there was an uptick in robberies, burglaries, theft and any violence. No link was found for anti-social behaviour and bodily harm.

“While the potential criminogenic effect for each Airbnb rental is small, the accumulative effect of dozens in a neighbourhood, or tens of thousands across the city, is potentially huge,” added Dr Lanfear.

“Crime seems to go up as soon as Airbnbs appear, and stays elevated for as long as they are active.

“It is not the company or even the property owners who experience the criminogenic side effects of Airbnb, it is the local residents building their lives in the neighbourhood.”

Airbnb has taken steps to prevent crime, including some background checks as well as insisting on extended bookings on nights such as New Year’s Eve to avoid people booking rentals for a one night blow-out party.

However the team said that the mitigation strategies were clearly not working.

Professor David Kirk, of the University of Pennsylvania, said: “The fact that we still find an increase in crime despite Airbnb’s efforts to curtail it reveals the severity of the predicament.”

Airbnb argued that the study provided no evidence that the crimes were being caused by its guests, and said many of its crime mitigation measures had not been enacted before the study period.

A spokesman said: “This report is misleading as it fails to account for a general rise in crime rates and seasonal travel peaks in London, which have a far greater impact on crime than the cited, decade old data.

“Listings rented for more than 90 nights a year on Airbnb account for just 0.17 per cent of homes in London.

“Airbnb creates new income for families, businesses and communities, boosting London’s economy by £1.5 billion last year alone while supporting over 16,800 jobs.”

The company said just 0.008 per cent of reservations taking place on Airbnb in London resulted in a police request for information.

The study was published in the journal Criminology.