Housing Association Approval for your Short Term Rental

Obtaining Housing Association approval for your short term rental property is not only important, it is essential if you want success.  Most property owners that I meet with care about their community, their neighbourhood, and their neighbours. As such obtaining the agreement of your Housing Association before advertising your property on Airbnb, Booking.com, or VRBO is a good idea.  In many instances, it is actually a legal requirement within the building's by laws.  Most professional property management companies will require you to have this approval before they list your property. There are many reasons why you might want to rent your property on the short term rental market.  The most common is the huge financial return - generally two to three times higher than the long term rental market.  Other reasons include a market downturn that inhibits the sale of the property (i.e. COVID); or perhaps you have moved in with your partner and don't want to sell your property.  Sometimes your work can take you to another city and renting your property out whilst you are traveling is a great way to make a very good income without selling your property.  These are all common and great reasons to rent your property on the short term rental market.

Why is it so important to have the Housing Association approval before you start advertising your short term rental online?  Here are some of the reasons why SwedBNB encourage property owners to obtain approval from the Housing Association before you rent your property:

1. It is courteous.  Whilst it it your apartment, your neighbours may wonder who is staying at your apartment and they may wonder who their new neighbours are.  Most people in Sweden are actually welcoming of short term rentals once the process and management systems are explained to them. Our property owners really care about their community and that is often one of the reasons they partner with a short term rental company and professional Airbnb Host to ensure that everything is managed professionally and problems are avoided.

2. It is a great opportunity to explain how great this opportunity really is.  Business and holiday travelers are fantastic for the economy and the local community.  People traveling spend their money locally and contribute financially to local businesses, restaurants, cafes, retails stores, and the local culture scene.  Similarly, it is rare for travelers to actually cause any problems, but if they did, SwedBNB staff are available 24 hours a day, every day of the week to respond in person to any complaints.  That's right - if there are any problems, someone in our team will be at the property immediately to ensure everything is fixed.  but to be honest, this so rarely happens it is barely worth mentioning.  All of our guests are vetted and checked. We know who is staying at your apartment, and we can coordinate the sharing of relevant information with the Housing Association for their peace of mind.  And we explain all house rules to every guest including:

* No loud noise after 2100hrs / 9pm

* No parties

* Only the booked guests are allowed inside the property

* No smoking inside or outside

* No shoes allowed to be worn inside

* No pets

SwedBNB staff also regularly walk past our properties on a Friday and Saturday night to ensure everything is looking peaceful and quiet.  It is not uncommon for our property managers to "just be in the area" on a Friday or Saturday night and drop in on a guest to give them some chocolates or a little local treat - all part of our processes to ensure the guest is satisfied, and that there are no problems in the building, of any sort.  

3. All Housing Associations handle subletting in their own way, and an open and transparent discussion at the start is a great way to understand the process. The property owner shall in the greatest possible opportunity be given the opportunity to sublet their apartment and most Housing Associations are supportive of this. However, it is up to each Housing Association to formulate the rules and an early and transparent discussion that highlights the benefits and how the risks will be mitigated is usually successful, especially if the property owner is likely to move back in at some point.

The world is increasingly evolving towards a sharing economy.  Even with COVID and travel restrictions, people traveling prefer to stay in a home instead of a hotel.  Similarly, being able to open your house allows property owners the ability to travel themselves and provides the financial freedom to work in and explore other cities around the world.  The home-sharing economy is a fantastic way to enrich the our communities and flexible housing is proving to be a positive development.  SwedBNB has been successfully working with many Housing Associations to facilitate and streamline the process so that home owners can open their homes and allow short term rentals.  By addressing concerns head on, including communication, perceived insecurity, and income distribution, SwedBNB has been able to successfully negotiate many new properties.  SwedBNB's BRF engagement model offers a complete solution to the problems that some home owners have previously faced when discussing short term rentals with their Housing Association.  SwedBNB is able to provide Housing Associations will real-time information on guest bookings so the Building Association always knows who is coming.  SwedBNB is available to meet with Housing Association members 24/7 to answer questions and address any issues that may arise whether big or small.  SwedBNB is the preferred partner with Booking.com in Sweden, as well as Airbnb, and VRBO.  With SwedBNB, you are dealing with the best and can rest assured that we are well connected with all relevant stakeholders.