Shark House told to stop running as an Airbnb after losing appeal bid

The owner of a house with a 25ft shark sticking out of the roof has been told by a Labour-run council that he must stop renting it out as an Airbnb.

For the past several years, Dr Magnus Hanson-Heine has rented out the house for short-term stays, with a single nights stay costing more than £1,000 during peak periods.

It became one of the most famous and photographed homes in Oxford after Dr Hanson-Heine's father, Bill Heine, had the 'Jaws' like shark crashing into the roof erected as a protest against warfare and bombing.

Last year, Dr Hanson-Heine appealed Oxford City Council's order to stop renting out the property as a short-term holiday let. The council said he had failed to apply for planning permission to to change the property from being a residential home to becoming a short-let business.

Now, however, a planning inspector has sided with the local authority, meaning Dr Hanson-Heine has until March 11 next year to stop renting out the property.

He believes it is a move that will hurt Oxford's tourism industry and leave it 'significantly poorer'.

However, the planning inspector found that while the house - known worldwide as the 'Headington Shark House' - represented a 'very modest reduction' in Oxford's housing supply, it was inappropriate for short-term lets.

Under the council's own planning rules, short-term lets should only be allowed in the city centre, in allocated sites in district centres or on Oxford's 'main arterial roads where there is frequent and direct public transport to the city centre', the BBC report.

Speaking to the Telegraph, Dr Hanson-Heine said: 'The Shark House is a major tourist attraction, not just a regular family home. 

'It's been a delight to be able to open it up to members of the public to celebrate it with us, and I will continue to do so for as long as I can.

'I've yet to hear any complaints from our neighbours, even during the planning appeal, and the inspector found no such harm in his decision.  We have mostly had five-star reviews from guests.

'Certain elements of the council have just used this as an excuse to score some cheap political points by going after a local landmark at the expense of the public.

'This does nothing meaningful to help people looking for homes, and after March all they will have done is to rob people who want to experience this piece of Oxford's history from the inside.

'Oxford's tourism and accommodation sector will be significantly poorer for it.'

Made from fibre glass and steel and built by sculptor John Buckley, it was erected in 1986 without official planning permission on the anniversary of the atom bomb being dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. 

A six-year planning battle followed which only ended when the then Environment Secretary Michael Heseltine made a personal visit to the house and gave permission for the structure to stay. 

Last year the house was added to the Oxford Heritage Asset Register as a site of interest - despite Magnus' objection due to his father initially installing the shark in protest of planning laws.

The Shark House has been rented out for the last five years but Oxford City Council began an investigation for breach of planning laws. 

He was told to take the property off Airbnb but appealed to the National Planning Inspectorate.

He said previously: 'I plan to fight this, and it seems so arbitrary that they have chosen me. There are others in Oxford who are using their homes at weekends as an Airbnb.

'The house has been involved in a planning dispute before with the council and this could be a vendetta.

'The house has been used as an Airbnb and advertised on other platforms for five years. Why now do they want to close it down? 

'The Shark House allows visitors to the area to step inside a unique piece of Oxford's history and closure as an Airbnb would represent a significant loss to Oxford's distinctive tourism offerings.'

Dr Hanson-Heine, who inherited the house after his father died in 2019 aged 74, said it is rented out most weekends.

On Airbnb it has attracted rave reviews from guests with a 4.86 rating. The house can sleep up to 10 people and in April a two-night stay would cost over £2,000. The average price is £300 a night.

Earlier this year, Councillor Linda Smith, Oxford City Council's cabinet member for housing, said: 'Where properties have changed from being residential homes to becoming short let businesses without planning approval, we do take enforcement action.

'We live in one the least affordable places for housing in the UK. There are nearly 800 properties let out entirely as short lets in Oxford and we need those for people to live in and not as holiday accommodation.

'The uncontrolled rise in the number of short lets deprives our city of much-needed homes and can cause misery in quiet neighbourhoods.

'The shark house is not in a location we consider suitable for short lets, which is why we have previously refused an application for change of use, and why we are now taking planning enforcement action against the property. 

'We look to take enforcement action against short lets we are made aware of without the necessary planning permission, including when we receive reports of antisocial behaviour and nuisance from a short let property. We urge all short-let landlords to come forward and apply for planning permission for change of use to regularise the use of their property.'

MailOnline has contacted Oxford City Council for comment.