With laws relating to Airbnb varying from place to place, property owners looking to list their homes at Airbnb have been urged to review the respective laws within their area to ensure that their operation is legal.
Notably, Airbnb operations is banned at various cities, such as Singapore, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Berlin and Barcelona. It is also prohibited in Sabah, said Christopher Chin, a lawyer from the Sabah Law Society (SLS).
“When you lease your property on Airbnb, Airbnb will assume that you have done your homework and that you have established that Airbnb’s operations are legal in Kota Kinabalu,” he said.
Chin noted the guest’s occupation of the owner’s property is by way of licence and not tenancy, providing the owner or host the right to access or enter the rented premises.
“Airbnb is a commercial activity because it has the following characteristics, namely, short-term use, absence of exclusive possession, housekeeping services and the fact that it is subject to the Innkeepers’ Ordinance,” he said.
“For a building to qualify for Airbnb it must be designed for commercial use under the Development Plan (DP).” The owner must also comply with the fire safety requirements by the Fire Department (Bomba), he added.
In August, Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) revealed plans to set guidelines for Airbnb operators within the state.
“We had conducted two meetings so far. During the second meeting, we had invited all the professional bodies, hotel associations, Stops and Shareda,” said Sally Edward Ghani, head of Building Plan Section at City Hall Planning Department.
“At the moment, Airbnb is illegal in Sabah. We cannot establish who is the operator for Airbnb. We do not have the list.”
Image sourced from Airdna.
This article was edited by the editorial team of PropertyGuru. To contact them about this or other stories email editorialteam@propertyguru.com.my
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