- The fibreglass great white figure was built in 1986 by then owner Bill Heine
- Oxford council chiefs say it can no longer be rented out due to a planning issue
- The iconic house had been available to rent on Airbnb for £1,000 a night
The owner of a house with a 25ft shark sticking out of the roof has been banned from renting it out on Airbnb because he doesn’t have planning permission from his local council.
Council chiefs in Oxford have ordered Magnus Hanson-Heine to stop renting out the property – known worldwide as the ‘Headington Shark House’ – as a short-term holiday let.
They have said he failed to apply for planning permission to change the use of the terraced home from a permanent to a temporary residence.
The iconic house – which has protected heritage status – has been available to rent on Airbnb for several years. A single nights stay can cost over £1,000 during peak periods.
It became one of the most famous and photographed homes in Oxford after Magnus’s father Bill had the ‘Jaws’ like shark crashing into the roof erected as a protest against warfare and bombing.
Council chiefs in Oxford have ordered Magnus Hanson-Heine to stop renting out the property – known worldwide as the ‘Headington Shark House’ – as a short-term holiday let
The shark made from fibre glass and steel was built by sculptor John Buckley and erected in 1986
Made from fibre glass and steel and built by sculptor John Buckley, it was erected in 1986 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 it 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 in Oxford City Council began an investigation for breach of planning laws.
He was told to take the property of Airbnb this month but has since appealed to the National Planning Inspectorate and plans to stay open until his appeal is heard in six months.
Magnus said: ‘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.’
The Headington Shark has become a minor tourist attraction in Oxford over the years
He added that the laws over homeowners using their homes as short term lets need to be clarified and updated as they came into force before the existence of Airbnb.
Magnus, 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.
The most recent review from a guest called Rick from London gave the house a 5-star rating.
He wrote: ‘I would highly recommend this place for a group of friends or a family visiting Oxford. Not only is this place a landmark, but a very comfortable and private house. It is spacious and had lots of local amenities, transport, and things recommend things to do around Oxford.’
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 councillor made the comment after the council began its investigation into the shark house.
A spokesman for Oxford City Council has been contacted for a comment.
