A landlord has said she won’t take her property off Airbnb if changes are announced to Rent Pressure Zones. 

The Government is expected to announce changes to Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) amid concern that the status quo is deterring investment in house building. 

Currently, tenants who live in Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) cannot have their rent increased by more than inflation or 2% annually - whichever is higher. 

Supporters of the status quo argue the rule is needed to protect renters in a housing crisis that shows no sign of abating.

While existing tenants would continue to enjoy the protection of the 2% cap, it could be abolished for tenants in new builds; instead, rent increases could be linked to the overall rate of inflation. 

Tenants could also enjoy greater protection from eviction during the first six years of their tenancy.

On Lunchtime Live, listener Geraldine said such changes would “definitely not” persuade her to rent out her property on the long-term rental market. 

“The property is actually too close to our own home, so we actually close it down if we’ve friends or family coming,” she said. 

“Years ago, when I had a house that I did rent out during the recession - I had to rent it out because I had to move counties to work - and I ended up having tenants from hell. 

“It took me 26 months to get them evicted.” 

A man looks at his iPhone. Picture by: Alamy.com.

She continued that while tenants need protection in law, landlords also need them. 

“They’re talking about protecting the tenants but they need to protect the landlord or support the landlord,” she said. 

“They need to come up with better solutions if people aren’t paying their rent or if they need to be evicted - genuinely evicted. 

“Not being evicted for rent increases.”

Main image: The Airbnb app on an iPhone. Picture by: Alamy.com.