Berlin and Barcelona use sleuths to root out illegal holiday lets
When Eckhard Sagitza and his team of Airbnb detectives roam the fashionable streets of Berlin’s Friedrichshain district, they keep an eye out for pairs of colourful rent-a-bikes, locked outside the doorways of tenement buildings.
The recent explosion of dockless bike hire schemes in Europe’s cities may have been decried by local politicians, but for the Sherlock Holmeses of the German capital’s housing authority, they are a handy clue in their crusade against rogue landlords.
“If you see a pair of those outside for two nights in a row, there’s a good chance someone in your building is letting out their flat to tourists,” said Sagitza, who tracks down those breaching Berlin’s stringent rules on vacation lettings.
His nemeses are professional landlords who buy up property
