(Yicai Global) Aug. 11 -- Beijing is preparing to implement some of the country’s strictest regulations on the use of private accommodation for short-term lodging, the Beijing Business Today reported today, citing an industry insider.

The shared accommodation sector has boomed in recent years as more people prefer the convenience of booking online and the better prices offered by private landlords through such platforms as AirBnB, Mayi and Xiaozhu. However, the new trend has given rise to a number of security issues and has also led to a series of complaints from neighbors.

Private accommodation can only be used as short-term lodging after gaining consent from other property owners in the same building or the house-owners committee, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said in a draft policy released yesterday that is soliciting public opinion.

Landlords should register their rental properties for such usage, report lodgers’ names, contact details and length of stay to the authorities and personally check lodgers’ identifications, it added. They must also comply with the building’s safety, fire and hygiene requirements, it said.

Hopefully there will be a period of time before the new policy is implemented to allow service providers to have time to make the necessary adjustments, the Beijing Business Today said, citing an executive at Xiaozhu. After all, the shared accommodation sector has suffered great losses in order to comply with the government’s Covid-19 epidemic control measures, he added.

The new regulations will see a number of unqualified homes exit the market to the benefit of the overall sector, the insider said.

Houses located in Beijing’s rural areas and the capital’s traditional courtyard houses, known as Siheyuan, will not be included in the new policy.

Editor: Kim Taylor