Airbnb has particular appeal for home-owners based near popular sport and music venues, or airports, where the desire for short-term letting can be high when particular events are taking place.

The warning comes as Airbnb in Ireland, which is based in the Republic for tax purposes, has revealed it is now required to pass over details of the payments it receives from hosts based there, which means the Irish tax authorities have data about taxpayer earnings from rentals, as part of its new annual corporate reporting requirements.