Yesterday, two men were charged for renting out four units at Leedon Heights condominium to others via Airbnb — the first such case following the outlawing of short-term rental durations in Singapore.
Airbnb hosts Terence Tan En Wei and Yao Songlian face four charges each for renting out the homes to people for less than the minimum rental period of six months. They could be fined up to S$200,000 each, should they be convicted under the Planning Act.
The popular lodging rental service has since spoken out about the ongoing court case against its users — and though it didn’t outrightly condemn the laws, Airbnb pointed out that the government should keep up with the changing landscape of home usage today.
“People want to experience a more authentic and sustainable type of travel. However, the current framework for home sharing in Singapore doesn’t reflect how Singaporeans travel or use their homes today,” noted an Airbnb spokesperson to Coconuts Singapore, adding that the current framework also stands in contrast with the country’s commitment to innovation.
According to the company, it helped drive S$324 million of economic activity here, with Airbnb hosts in Singapore earning more than S$70 million over the past year. “Our research shows that 40 percent of hosts say they rely on the supplementary income they earn from Airbnb to make ends meet and 15 percent say the additional income has helped them avoid eviction or foreclosure,” it claimed.
The service has also apparently helped local neighborhoods benefit from tourist spending, which was historically limited to traditional tourist areas only.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), however, doesn’t take such a shining view of Airbnb’s disruptive innovation. “Allowing residences to be used for short stays leads to high turnovers of occupants, and gives rise to nuisance and safety concerns,” URA wrote on its website. “Most of us do prefer some familiarity with the people who live around our homes.”
Despite the legislative setbacks, Airbnb remains adamant that its concept can still co-exist in Singapore, assuring that the company remains strongly committed to working alongside the government to “find a way forward for home sharing”.
“We have collaborated with authorities around the world, developing clear and sensible frameworks that allow home sharing to thrive, while addressing each city’s unique challenges and concerns,” the spokesperson stated.
Currently, there are still about 8,700 Airbnb listings in Singapore, with more than 330,000 travelers utilizing the service here over the past year.
