AirBnB Megathread - ALL A&P related Airbnb discussion here please

Nekarsulm

I wonder how many people in receipt of rent allowance are on Ab&b?

Water John

Well its rather simple. AirBnB give a list of all transactions to Revenue each year. That closes the circle, slam dunk.

The person on rent allowance is low income, thus 20% tax take. The person on higher income is on a higher tax rate, has a better property, Thus higher rent and higher tax yield on the double. Chasing some one on rent allowance is small fry.

zef

Nekarsulm wrote: »

I wonder how many people in receipt of rent allowance are on Ab&b?

Why do you single out rent allowance recipients- with a smiley face? What about people in council houses, should they be 'allowed' do AirBnB?
Or people who don't pay their mortgage?

maxmarmalade

What expenses can be used to reduce the amount one must pay taxes on? For example, we are renting the spare room using Airbnb in a 2 bed. Its almost always full as we're in the city centre. Sometimes guests will use the kitchen to cook food. Can we therefore reduced our tax liability by putting down the extra electricity as an expense? If so, by how much?

Michael D Not Higgins

maxmarmalade wrote: »

What expenses can be used to reduce the amount one must pay taxes on? For example, we are renting the spare room using Airbnb in a 2 bed. Its almost always full as we're in the city centre. Sometimes guests will use the kitchen to cook food. Can we therefore reduced our tax liability by putting down the extra electricity as an expense? If so, by how much?

In these instances we always advise an accountant to understand the allowable expenses. The accountant themselves would be an allowable expense and may save you more money in the long run.

Edit: I would expect you would work it out as a percentage of the bill. For example if you rent 20 days out of 30 in one month, you take 2/3rds of the bill and half of that is deductible. Please clear this up with an accountant though.

maxmarmalade

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

In these instances we always advise an accountant to understand the allowable expenses. The accountant themselves would be an allowable expense and may save you more money in the long run.

Edit: I would expect you would work it out as a percentage of the bill. For example if you rent 20 days out of 30 in one month, you take 2/3rds of the bill and half of that is deductible. Please clear this up with an accountant though.

Yeah thats what I thought. Seems to be what it says here too http://www.revenue.ie/en/business/running/allowable-expenses.html

Great, another way of reducing taxable airbnb income:)

Muahahaha

There is a documentary on Airbnb on TV tonight

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/airbnb-dream-or-nightmare

About the programme
Most of room bookings site Airbnb's millions of users have positive experiences, but this documentary reveals what can go wrong for owners and renters, and how it can change neighbourhoods

Water John

In fairness Revenue do allow expenses in various businesses. They are reasonable on the point and it won't be challenged if you don't ride it.
If it would pay you to use an accountant, do so as they are less likely to be challenged.

Peregrinus

Yes, an accountant will have a pretty good idea of what the Revenue will regard as reasonable deductions to claim in connection with any business, given the nature and scale of the business. If you're in this situation, well worth spending a few shillings on professional advice.

appfry

Saw the doc on channel 4.
Very interesting.
I must say though I have used airbnb a lot and I love it. Never had a bad experience.
Id say hotels are not happy about it though.
for example, im staying in Barcelona in a few weeks and hotel prices are massive. Airbnb is more than halving the cost for me, to stay in the same area.
I dont think i'll ever stay in a hotel again at this rate.

richy

Hi there,

We are thinking of renting out our house on airbnb at the end of the month just for a weekend as there is an event on but plan on doing it for the whole summer from now and maybe permenantly. Its a house that my grandparents owned so it was left to my father and his two siblings. They are planning on signing over to my dad as he took care of my grandmother both financially and in terms of helping her etc. They are both fairly well off and the house wasnt worth much when she passed away (although my dad has completly renovated it recently for me and gf).

If it is currently owned by the three of them, can my dad airbnb it in his name and bank details etc and pay the relevant tax on his accounts or does it have to be split equally between all three of them.

Also, if you are planning on doing the cleaning yourself but still charge the guests how is this done tax wise? Is it just part of the income of the property?

Water John

I would suggest clearing one hurdle at the time. Forego the bit of money to be made in the short term. At least get it solely in your fathers name if not yours, first. Don't queer the ground on an understanding between your father and uncles. They may get on fine but someone else in the family might start stirring things. Great that they agree to the gift but the green eyed monster is never far away and some spouse may stick their oar in.
Sorry looks a lot of cliches but clear the legals first is my advice.

Glass fused light

Water John wrote: »

I would suggest clearing one hurdle at the time. Forego the bit of money to be made in the short term. At least get it solely in your fathers name if not yours, first. Don't queer the ground on an understanding between your father and uncles. They may get on fine but someone else in the family might start stirring things. Great that they agree to the gift but the green eyed monster is never far away and some spouse may stick their oar in.
Sorry looks a lot of cliches but clear the legals first is my advice.

As this was your dad and siblings family home, I would second Water John's good advice on getting the legals sorted first plus as your father improved the house and if your father is thinking of passing the house on to you get tax advice.

If you or your dad are thinking of running a business taking to an accountant on the costs and filing obligations is a good starting point.

ScouseMouse

Looking for a place in Camden Town in early December.

First place is listed as available, but when contacted, declined the booking.
Second place available, but declined as he is not sure he is there that weekend.
Third booking got a reply "sorry, but Airbnb have the wrong price up, its really dearer at XXXX per night" What a load of crap!

I went back to Airbnb and the original price is still listed.

Seems to be full of messers and I am still no further forward.

EDIT. Now the third place has increased the price on the site.

athtrasna

ScouseMouse wrote: »

Looking for a place in Camden Town in early December.

First place is listed as available, but when contacted, declined the booking.
Second place available, but declined as he is not sure he is there that weekend.
Third booking got a reply "sorry, but Airbnb have the wrong price up, its really dearer at XXXX per night" What a load of crap!

I went back to Airbnb and the original price is still listed.

Seems to be full of messers and I am still no further forward.

EDIT. Now the third place has increased the price on the site.

This is the accommodation and property forum. Airbnb discussion on here is based on Airbnb as a short term letting alternative. Your post is more suited to the travel Forum

JunoS

Hi Ellee, Can you send on the details please?

JunoS

Hi Helen,
Can you share the details of your insurer with me by PM? Thank you!

Takenthisis

Could anyone that successfully got insurance in Ireland for subletting on AirBnb with the landlords permission please PM where to go, I can't find this anywhere

katy39

Hi all,
Does anyone have experience using AirBnb, I would like to try renting tru Airbnb but would you recommend it.
I have a 1 bed roomed apartment on the quays in Dublin city that I could rent out entirely for 1300 pm on a long term yearly lease
but could I improve on this using Airbnb as my Mortgage is huge and the Bank is after me.
Thanks Katy

theteal

Don't you now need planning permission to rent via airbnb in the city?

FA Hayek

I have been using airbnb now for about 12 months and have stayed in about 10 different places in a number of countries.
I am doing a bit of inter continental travel next month and have booked 5 different airbnb places in 5 different well known cities. All of which are cheaper then both Hotels and Hostels.

I find it a fantastic concept which really empowers the individual. When you stay in a hotel, you are giving money to a large corporation. When you stay in an Airbnb you are giving money to a regular ordinary Joe Soap who is running his own small business. Oddly I find the people most against the concept to be left wing types, when it is exactly these people who should be for the concept.

However, Airbnb also takes away the power of the State to interfere with every facet of ones life, that may be the reason why those left wing types are so annoyed with Airbnb, they love to regulate the beejeus out of everything.

Anyway, the peer to peer economy is here to stay in some shape or form. You can't really put that genie back in the bottle much as some people would love to. Well done to all the landlords going down this route as well.

Robineen

FA Hayek wrote: »

I find it a fantastic concept which really empowers the individual. When you stay in a hotel, you are giving money to a large corporation.

Not always.

AirBnB started out as a great concept, people occasionally renting out their home if they are not there. But a property in a residential area being constantly let out to strangers can be disruptive to neighbours and indeed this has already caused problems in Dublin. Is that to be applauded? At least hotels are in areas zoned appropriately for that use.

And the whole " big bad corporation" against the "noble, small business owner" nonsense. That corporation is providing employment, the dastard! Renting out a property that you own provides none, except maybe bringing in a cleaner the odd time.

jimmycrackcorm

Robineen wrote:

AirBnB started out as a great concept, people occasionally renting out their home if they are not there. But a property in a residential area being constantly let out to strangers can be disruptive to neighbours and indeed this has already caused problems in Dublin. Is that to be applauded? At least hotels are in areas zoned appropriately for that use.

I think that isn't correct in the main. The example used is for a property in temple bar which is obviously going to attract the type of clients you might expect visit that area.

I've two close neighbours in my suburban estate. One is ABB with somewhat regular usage, the other is a <mod snip > family trying long term that always seem to have lots of visitors with multiple cars parking outside.

Guess which is more disruptive?

Robineen

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

I think that isn't correct in the main. The example used is for a property in temple bar which is obviously going to attract the type of clients you might expect visit that area.

I've two close neighbours in my suburban estate. One is ABB with somewhat regular usage, the other is a <mod snip > family trying long term that always seem to have lots of visitors with multiple cars parking outside.

Guess which is more disruptive?

It's not just the Temple Bar case, there was also issues in a Spencer's Dock apartment complex.

In your above examples, one doesn't negate the other. Disruptive families are a total nightmare for close proximity neighbours so I'm not sure what point there is to bringing that up. Apartments, terraces, semi-ds, even detached houses that are close to others; there is potential for disruption in any of these situations. I'm in an apartment complex and I would hate if the apartments either side of me didn't have steady tenants. There is security in seeing the same faces all the time, even if we don't know them that well.

newacc2015

Robineen wrote: »

AirBnB started out as a great concept, people occasionally renting out their home if they are not there. But a property in a residential area being constantly let out to strangers can be disruptive to neighbours and indeed this has already caused problems in Dublin. Is that to be applauded? At least hotels are in areas zoned appropriately for that use.

For the number of Airbnbs in Dublin, the problems are few and far between. I know people who didnt realise they were living next store to Airbnbs. I personally would happily live next store to an Airbnb that is noisy the odd night, then next store to an anti-social tenant who will take over a year to evict. I know from speaking to people on the boards of various apartment blocks around Dublin, anti-social tenants who are impossible to evict is a greater problem than a few wealthy Americans staying in an Airbnb for a week.

I dont see how the zoning of hotels is relevant? Go to Parnell St or North Great Georges St or Amien St and you will see hotels next store to residential housing. How exactly are these hotels zoned for their use? It is fine for a hotel to be next store to me on Amien St but not an Airbnb?

Robineen wrote: »

And the whole " big bad corporation" against the "noble, small business owner" nonsense. That corporation is providing employment, the dastard! Renting out a property that you own provides none, except maybe bringing in a cleaner the odd time.

Do you the EMEA HQ for Airbnb is in Dublin? They employ about 600 people here in well paid jobs. Every job in a multinational creates another 2.5 indirect jobs, most of which are well paid too. Where has hotel jobs are generally the lowest paid jobs in Ireland. A lot of hotels are owned by dodgy funds who don't pay a cent in tax and picked up hotels on a dime.

Where as Airbnbs are generally run by single person. Their income is taxed extremely heavily (unlike a dodgy Texan vulture fund). The money earned stays within the employee. You don't seem to see an Airbnbs creates indirect employment for accountants, repairmen, jobs in the hospitality sector eg bars, restaurants etc.

Robineen

newacc2015 wrote: »

For the number of Airbnbs in Dublin, the problems are few and far between. I know people who didnt realise they were living next store to Airbnbs. I personally would happily live next store to an Airbnb that is noisy the odd night, then next store to an anti-social tenant who will take over a year to evict.

I'd like neither of these things. It's not either or. Disruptive neighbours have no consideration for the people living beside them and people who hope to rent out their property on a continuous basis on AirBnB are no better. As long as spoondoolies are coming in, they don't care how it affects the people living adjacent to their property.

FA Hayek

Robineen wrote: »

Not always.

AirBnB started out as a great concept, people occasionally renting out their home if they are not there. But a property in a residential area being constantly let out to strangers can be disruptive to neighbours and indeed this has already caused problems in Dublin. Is that to be applauded? At least hotels are in areas zoned appropriately for that use.

And the whole " big bad corporation" against the "noble, small business owner" nonsense. That corporation is providing employment, the dastard! Renting out a property that you own provides none, except maybe bringing in a cleaner the odd time.

Airbnb users and landlords are also providing employment to people. Not directly apart from cleaners and workmen/tradesmen. They provide employment by the fact that people will have more disposable income in their back pocket, which they will spend in a restaurant, pub, tourist sites and so on. All these people will hire more people as a result. If Airbnb makes it cheaper for tourists to visit cities, they those not as wealthy will also be able to visit different places and more often.

Airbnb also have a much more personal aspect to it. Not everyone wants to stay in a soulless hotel, where you are paying money for services you do not use nor need. Some of the best places I have stayed in are where the host makes an effort to have dinner and talk about various things. People want different things from their holiday and sitting down with a local breaking bread with them is often the best way to get an insight into a different culture and way of life.

If Airbnb landlords are not taking a duty of care in relation to noise/disturbance then there is legislation already in place to stop this. Only that in Ireland enforcement is usually terrible. How else can a long term tenant basically live in a home, pay no rent and it would take the guts of a year to get them out?

As usual any problem with something new we may not fully understand, the Irish reaction is to ban it.

Robineen

FA Hayek wrote: »

Airbnb users and landlords are also providing employment to people. Not directly apart from cleaners and workmen/tradesmen. They provide employment by the fact that people will have more disposable income in their back pocket, which they will spend in a restaurant, pub, tourist sites and so on. All these people will hire more people as a result. If Airbnb makes it cheaper for tourists to visit cities, they those not as wealthy will also be able to visit different places and more often.

The "big, bad corporation" stuff is sophomoric. AirBnb is a corporation, for gawd's sake. :pac: Nothing wrong with liking AirBnb but please don't paint it as some noble pursuit for property owners to use it for their properties. Big hotel chain, or small business owner, it's about money for both parties.

FA Hayek wrote: »

Airbnb also have a much more personal aspect to it. Not everyone wants to stay in a soulless hotel, where you are paying money for services you do not use nor need. Some of the best places I have stayed in are where the host makes an effort to have dinner and talk about various things.

Sure, sure, some people do like that. For me that sounds very unappealing to spend my holidays that way. Ewwww, paying to engage in small talk? I don't even like to that for free! But I suspect that isn't a big draw of Airbnb anyway, most people go for the cheapness of it and location of some of the properties. I don't get the whole soulless hotel room thing though. If it's comfortable and spacious and where I want it to be, that's what I want, plus food is handed to me for breakfast and a swimming pool to bob around usually provided. People are happy to pay extra for that stuff that is often missing from self-catering rentals. Anyhoo, a matter of personal preference so not too relevant.

FA Hayek wrote: »

If Airbnb landlords are not taking a duty of care in relation to noise/disturbance then there is legislation already in place to stop this.

Well, planning permission will soon be required to rent on Airbnb, I think, and I can envisage it not being granted in residential buildings or densely packed separate houses most of time. This is only right. Like said, I would hate to live adjacent to an Airbnb property. So much so that if I suspected it was in breach of regulations, I'd likely report it as I'd like to feel comfortable in my own home and building. And, yes, I would also hate to live next to a problem tenant. You can dislike both.

FA Hayek wrote: »

As usual any problem with something new we may not fully understand, the Irish reaction is to ban it.

Erm, other countries are way ahead of us in restricting AirBnb. A tad patronising to chalk this down to lack of comprehension too, no?

KyussBeeshop

It's up to the planning authorities to decide whether AirBnB rentals are suitable for an area - it's not up to random people on Boards, nor landlords, to decide this.

It is illegal to setup long term AirBnB rentals, without planning permission - anyone looking to rent out on AirBnB needs to follow the planning regulations, or their rental is illegal.

If the planning authorities say it's fine, and do a good job regulating it, then great - we'll have AirBnB's setup in suitable parts of the city, as a useful service to tourists, without them warping the rental market or contributing to anti-social behaviour in an area - all is good.

AirBnB has its positive uses - but it is not a free-for-all, and for good reason - so you need planning permission for long term rentals.

FA Hayek

KyussBeeshop wrote: »

It's up to the planning authorities to decide whether AirBnB rentals are suitable for an area - it's not up to random people on Boards, nor landlords, to decide this.

It is illegal to setup long term AirBnB rentals, without planning permission - anyone looking to rent out on AirBnB needs to follow the planning regulations, or their rental is illegal.

If the planning authorities say it's fine, and do a good job regulating it, then great - we'll have AirBnB's setup in suitable parts of the city, as a useful service to tourists, without them warping the rental market or contributing to anti-social behaviour in an area - all is good.

AirBnB has its positive uses - but it is not a free-for-all, and for good reason - so you need planning permission for long term rentals.

Yes, god forbid individuals in a free society do not bow down to some state funded quango in an effort to run our lives for us.