The Residential Landlords Association has spotted small print from the Budget that may suggest the government is about to review Rent A Room tax relief in the light of the spread of Airbnb short lets.
Currently the Rent A Room scheme allows people letting out rooms in their homes to lodgers can currently earn £7,500 tax free; this also applies to those letting rooms through Airbnb and similar sites.
RLA research shows there are more than 23,000 rooms listed on Airbnb in London alone.
The association says that as Rent A Room was introduced to increase the supply of affordable long term lodgings it would appear the government review is taking place in direct response to the popularity of short term letting sites.
"Promising a consultation on redesigning the relief in the Budget Red Book the government says it will be looking at the way Rent A Room operates to ensure it is better targeted to support longer term lettings, reflecting its original purpose" says a statement from the RLA
The Budget small print does not reveal a timescale for the review.
Join the conversation
Be the first to comment (please use the comment box below)
Please login to comment