SINGAPORE: Two Singaporean Airbnb hosts who pleaded guilty in court to unauthorised short-term letting were fined a total of S$60,000 each on Tuesday (Apr 3), in the first such cases under the country's rules on short-term property letting introduced last year.
The two men, 35-year-old Terence Tan En Wei and 34-year-old Yao Song Liang, 34, pleaded guilty in February for letting four units in a condominium for less than six months without permission from the Urban Redevelopment Authority. They were charged in December last year.
They faced a fine of up to S$200,000 per charge.
Prosecutors sought fines of S$20,000 per charge for a total of S$80,000 for each of the two defendants. Defence lawyers sought fines of S$5,000 per charge.
Private homes in Singapore are subject to a minimum rental period of three consecutive months, while for public housing, home to about 80 per cent of Singapore's residents, it is six months.
In March, Airbnb said it was willing to make some concessions on short-term rentals in Singapore in an attempt to appease concerns of the government.
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