Lewisham tenant caught renting council flat rooms out on Airbnb

A LEWISHAM Council tenant has apologised after we caught her renting out two of her council flat bedrooms on Airbnb – in breach of council rules.

Grace Gbendio, of Maple House, Idonia Street, Deptford, apologised when we confronted her about the two rooms on the platform.

She claimed she thought she had the right to advertise the bedrooms on the platform as she had previously told the council she wanted to rent one of them out.

However, Lewisham Council strictly forbids renting out council homes – in whole or in part – on Airbnb. The council has now launched an investigation into the case.

It comes as thousands of people wait for a property on the council’s housing list – with some having little hope of getting one for decades.

When we asked Ms Gbendio if she thought it was fair to be renting out the bedrooms on Airbnb – when others are facing long waits – she said: “No. I will stop it.

**PICTURED: Grace Gbendio apologised for renting out the rooms on Airbnb and vowed to stop**

“I didn’t know I couldn’t rent them out. I told my housing officer that I wanted to rent a room out. I’m still waiting for them (to reply).

“I will stop (renting) until I get a reply from them (the council).”

The Lewisham Letter booked a night’s stay for £52.62 at one of Ms Gbendio’s two bedrooms on Airbnb. The property was advertised on the platform by a woman called Ericka Ese-Anthony, who said she was Ms Gbendio’s daughter.

Airbnb advert for council flat — **PICTURED: The Airbnb advert for the bedroom we booked**

On the day of our arrival at the block of flats, police were stationed on one of the walkways opposite the property after arresting a man for possession of firearms.

After this ominous start, we collected the flat keys from a hidden location which Ericka revealed to us in a message on Airbnb.

Upon entering the three-bedroom flat, we met a young Saudi Arabian man who said he had been staying in one of the bedrooms for months while studying English. He said his language school set him up with the room.

Police at Maple House — **PICTURED: On the day of our arrival at the flat police had just arrested a man for possession of firearms**

Both his room and the bedroom we booked had a number of reviews from other guests on Airbnb.

We then spoke to Ms Gbendio and told her that we were carrying out an investigation into council homes being rented out on Airbnb.

When we told her this was not allowed under the council’s policies, she apologised and vowed to stop renting out the rooms.

The adverts for the two bedrooms on Airbnb now appear to have been taken down.

Former Lewisham Liberal Democrat councillor Mark Morris told the Lewisham Letter: “There should be a zero tolerance policy on allowing Lewisham Council properties to be used in this way.

“Social housing is too rare a commodity for it to be abused. Such practices are an insult to the thousands of people on housing waiting lists.

Reviews on the Airbnb rooms — **PICTURED: Both of the rooms advertised at the flat had reviews from guests**

“Airbnb even claim that they want to work with councils to stop social housing being used. It is time Lewisham Council stepped up and ensured its rules were fully enforced.”

A Lewisham Council spokesman added: “Although we sometimes give permission to residents to take in lodgers, under no circumstances do we allow short-term rentals through platforms like Airbnb.

“We will be investigating this and contacting the tenant.”

**PICTURED: The Airbnb advert showed the door of the flat in Maple House**

Katrina Robinson, chair of the Tenancy Fraud Forum, told the Lewisham Letter: “The waiting lists for social housing, particularly in cities such as London, mean that some people will wait around 10 to 20 years for a home to be offered to them, if it is offered at all.

“There are a number of online platforms that social tenants use to unlawfully sublet their homes and Airbnb is one of them.

“Whilst some of the online accommodation agencies provide useful information under data protection legislation, Airbnb routinely refuses to do so, meaning that the investigations of the social landlord are delayed.

Maple House — **PICTURED: The Airbnb listings now appear to have been taken down**

“Put quite simply, Airbnb has no moral compass and puts profit before doing the right thing.

“If local authorities were given additional funding in the specific fight against tenancy fraud, then cases like this one in Lewisham would be uncovered with more ease.”

Airbnb has been approached for comment.

Lewisham tenant caught renting council flat rooms out on Airbnb

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