Airbnb tackles illegal sublets by giving landlords share of profits
Airbnb is hoping to help tenants sublet their rentals on the platform without raising the ire of the ultimate landlord via its new Friendly Building Program. The idea is that property owners sign an agreement to work with Airbnb and thus retain the power to decide the terms of any sub-letted short-term rentals. For example, the property owner may specify which units can be rented and for how long and determine the revenue split between landlord and tenant. According to Airbnb, landlords typically get between 5% and 15% of the profits.
A landlord ready to had over the keys. Kyle_B_Thomas via Flickr

Airbnb is teaming up with landlords in an effort to make peace with one of the home-sharing service's biggest critics.

Airbnb — which landlords and property managers have long been wary of — has created a new service: the Airbnb Friendly Building Program. According to Fortune's Kia Kokalitcheva, the program is essentially an olive branch to the real estate industry and will allow landlords to keep tabs on how their tenants are listing and renting their apartments on Airbnb — for a price.

Here's how Fortune explains it: The program will allow building owners to apply for the program and, if accepted, decide on the terms for renting a unit in their building. The owners can submit those terms to Airbnb and change the tenant's lease to reflect the agreements. Tenants then sign up for the Friendly Building Program through Airbnb, while Airbnb will handle payment.

There's only one issue: while the upside of the program is that tenants will now be in accordance with their lease and won't face eviction if they list their place without consent, they'll also stand to make less money off the listing. Airbnb says it recommends landlords take 5% to 15%, but it's left entirely up to the landlords to determine how much of a cut to take.