Man given R1.7-million fine for renting his flat on Airbnb

A British man has been hit with a whopping £100,000 (R1.74-million) fine for renting out his flat on the app Airbnb. According to prosecutors Toby Harman, 37, had been advertising his place on the short-term accommodation website since 2013 describing it as being a ‘cosy studio apartment’ with a hot tub .

The Londoner had come up short, however, because the flat was a council flat, designed by the British government to “provide much-needed homes for our residents, not to generate illicit profits for dishonest tenants.”

The fine is one of the largest ever handed out in such cases and was determined by the amount of profit Harman had made since he first sold the flat on the app.

Despite trying to cover his tracks, and using the name Lara on the adverts, Harman was undone by his own good service. Many of the reviews on the site praised Toby Harman for recommending local restaurants or helping out in other ways.

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