A man renting 40 properties in the Drumcondra area and letting them out through Airbnb was confronted by one of his former landlords on Liveline today.

Seamus Murphy, a lecturer living in Dublin, rents properties in the Drumcondra area and lets them out to Airbnb customers during the summer months.

One of his former landlords, Angela Black, spoke to Liveline last Friday to complain that a property she rented in Drumcondra was being used for Airbnb without her knowledge.

“My neighbour got in touch and said my Airbnb guests were causing trouble and that was the first I had heard of it,” Ms Black told Liveline last Friday.

Her tenant today defended his actions, and the conversation quickly turned into an argument when Ms Black was brought back onto the programme to confront him.

Mr Murphy said that he tended to double the rent on a property for Airbnb, but that he was paying Ms Black a good rent: “I was paying enough rent for her to be happy, but some people can’t be happy.”

“There was a fight on the street after a concert in Croke Park; it had nothing to do with us. I was contacted by her after the complaint and told to vacate the property by the following night,” Mr Murphy told Liveline.

Ms Black responded: “We gave you seven days’ notice to leave and during that week, I had more complaints from my neighbour.”

“I’ll agree with you there; you have a very complaining neighbour,” Mr Murphy laughed.

Mr Murphy pointed out that he had lost the deposit on the property, but said: “I don’t care about it; it’s only €500. She’s from Mayo so she could give it to the Mayo football team, or the Vincent de Paul.”

When Joe Duffy raised the question of how the Airbnb trend is affecting the homelessness crisis, Mr Murphy said: “There’s plenty of empty houses in Longford and Westmeath.”

The role of Airbnb in the renting market has been the subject of much debate since the ruling by An Bord Pleanála that the owners of an apartment in Temple Bar had breached planning laws by consistently using the property for short-term letting on Airbnb.