The government will review the way rent a room relief
operates – in what appears to be a bid to tackle the rise of short term
lettings. People renting out rooms in their homes to lodgers can currently earn
£7,500 tax free under the scheme. However people offering short terms lets
through sites such as Airbnb can also take advantage of the relief. RLA
research shows there are more than 23,000 rooms listed on Airbnb in London
alone. 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. Read more on the RLA
website.
