Airbnb Launches New Feature for Tenants

Renting Your Rented Apartment

For renters who wish to cover the cost of rent while taking a summer off — or the cost of gifts while flying home for Christmas — wish could soon become reality. After a new product update, select tenants will now be able to rent their rented units on Airbnb (ABNB) when not in use.

To make this happen, Airbnb is partnering with a handful of major landlords and management companies to test the service across different markets.

Win, Win, Win?

This new feature could be a rare triple win for tenants, landlords, and Airbnb alike.

It’s a win for tenants, as they get to collect passive income on their apartments when not in use, subsidizing the cost of the rent. It’s a win for landlords who collect 20% of each Airbnb rental, in addition to what their tenants already pay in rent. Finally, Airbnb can declare victory as well, as this feature will likely drive more traffic to their already-popular platform.

With this new feature, there are a couple rules to be aware of. To rent out your apartment, you must be the primary resident. Also, building owners can restrict the number of nights that you sublet your apartment. These rules are put in place to prevent major investors — or savvy renters — from subletting apartments full-time.

Where Can I Rent?

For now, Airbnb is testing the new service in 175 apartment buildings across 25 markets, including Los Angeles, Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Seattle, and Phoenix. Some hubs — such as New York City and Washington DC — will not have the new service, due to local restrictions on short term rentals.

With that said, Airbnb tends to play by a different set of rules in each city. If you’re interested in potentially subletting your own apartment on Airbnb, you might consider keeping a close eye on their platform for updates.

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