Rental properties typically forbid renters from short-term subletting. Airbnb has launched a new platform to help change that. With the help of a number of significant landlords and property managers, Airbnb will soon be able to list specific apartment complexes where tenants are permitted to advertise short-term sublets on the website.

The company revealed that a brand-new page on its website would showcase Airbnb-friendly buildings, offering tenants the same chance to host visitors in their residences as property owners do.

This change will make it easy to identify more than 175 buildings in 25 different cities throughout the United States that permit tenants to host on a part-time basis if it’s their principal residence. This will assist people who want to host to find landlords who are supportive of hosting and have the required checks in place.

Current markets covered by the new Airbnb platform

The showcasing will first cover more than 25 main towns, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Denver, Seattle, and Phoenix.  Due to municipal regulations on short-term rentals, some cities, including New York City and Washington, D.C., are not available.

The platform will help people host their rentals and assist buildings in luring clients who might wish to host. 

Potential hosting income for tenants

According to Airbnb co-founder, Nathan Blecharczyk, tenants’ potential earnings will differ depending on the building and the location.

Apartment rents have increased significantly over the past few years, along with property prices and other growing costs. Tenants are, therefore, increasingly looking for additional sources of income to cover their monthly obligations. According to Apartment List, rents are beginning to decline but are still 10% higher than they were a year ago.

Over the past year, rents increased by over 15%.

The newly added page on Airbnb’s website will also feature a calculator that will display the potential monthly income for the tenant. The formula varies according to the number of available bedrooms and overnight stays each building allows. The potential asking rent amount in consideration of the amenities provided also makes a difference.  Additionally, apartment buildings have the right to charge the primary tenant up to 20% of the cost of each Airbnb use. According to Airbnb, residents in the test-mode buildings have hosted an average of nine nights per month, bringing in an average of $900 a month.

Qualifications to participate in the Airbnb listing

Hosts of buildings participating in the program should be their primary occupants. The buildings may also impose a cap on the number of nights a month that an apartment may be sublet equating to about 80 to 120 nights each year. The limits are enforceable because all transactions happen on the portal. They stop investors from taking part and renting out the apartments permanently.

Before a listing goes online, the owner or management business of the apartment building has the right to inspect it and deactivate it if it doesn’t meet the requirements of the facility. They may also require all eligible subletters to present a government ID.

The Cutting edge Airbnb strategy

Among the well-known companies providing units with hosting rights on the new Airbnb platform are Equity Residential, UDR, which are apartment real estate investment trusts, or REITs, and Greystar, the largest apartment management company in the United States.

According to a Greystar official, “We think this platform will give the proper tools for both owners and residents to successfully manage short-term rental activities without harming overall housing supply. We are working with Airbnb to develop this cutting-edge strategy to take a responsible role in the sharing economy of the twenty-first century.”