A HOMEOWNER with a 25ft shark sticking out of his roof has been banned from listing his house on Airbnb -but his neighbour is using the shark to net a fortune.
Magnus Hanson-Heine was told to cease short term lets at his property almost 12 months ago by his local council, but his neighbour is renting his flat on Airbnb and using the landmark to up prices.
The 25ft great white sculpture made a splash and Airbnb-ers could rent the iconic Oxford property, known worldwide as Headington Shark House, for £1,000 a night.
But following a complaint from Oxford City Council, who are trying to reduce the number of holiday homes to make way for full-time residents, Magnus was forced to find long-term renters instead.
The council argued that he failed to apply for planning permission to change the use of the terraced home from a permanent to a temporary residence.
The quantum chemist said he feels “targeted” by the council, and that because his father didn’t apply for planning permission when he first installed the shark, the council “might have done this to me to be petty back.”
The late Bill Heine, a journalist and Magnus Hanson-Heine’s father, added the shark in 1986 as a protest against the US bombing of Libya and a statement against nuclear weapons.
It has since become a landmark and the council previously tried to add the fibreglass shark to the Oxford Heritage Asset Register, to which Marcus objected.
After inheriting the terraced property in 2019, Magnus started renting it out for short-term lets until last year’s ban.
Magnus claimed he is being “unfairly singled out” by the council.
“I am very annoyed that the council has banned me from renting out my beautiful home to holidaymakers and tourists to our wonderful city, but my neighbour is able to do exactly that and even use my shark to promote his property.”
“Evidently, the council will only take action to ban homeowners from short-term rents if they are notified by a member of the public, but I will not be going down that road because I am not spiteful.
“But the council should not be singling me out for a ban while others are doing exactly the same thing.”
He appealed against his Airbnb ban last year, but his bid failed, and he was forced to stop the short-term lets on March 11 this year.
He told Sun Online at the time: “I was so shocked when my appeal didn’t go through. There was only one complaint about the Airbnb making the street busy, but we have parking out of the back. We were so sure that it would all be fine.
“It seems to me that they are doing this as a politically cheap way to look like they’ve done something about the housing issue.”
“There are something like a thousand Airbnb properties in Oxford, and they have only really targeted me.
“When this started, I only got a letter from the council telling me I wasn’t allowed to use it as a holiday home anymore.”
“They constantly do things like this; it doesn’t feel like my property anymore. I think they believe they own it; they even listed the building without me knowing, there was no communication.
“It seems weird to stop a house from being a holiday home when it is literally a tourist attraction.
“I don’t quite get why they want to do this to me. I don’t know what my dad would have done but I know that he wouldn’t have liked it. I think he would have complained.”
The neighbour who lives opposite has put his one-bed flat on Airbnb – and is marketing it as “Headington Shark Apartment”.
The owner of the flat, a “superhost” called Nick, even includes a photograph of Magnus’ shark home on the other side of the street and charges guests a whopping £944 for a three-night stay there.
Similar flats in the Headington area are priced from £334 for three nights.
In his blurb on the Airbnb website, Nick writes: “SHORT-LET – A fully furnished and equipped 1-bedroom apartment situated in the middle of Headington, under the shadow of the famous Shark Landmark.”
He adds, under the “Other things to note” section: “This apartment is well presented and is ideally situated away from the main London Road with arguably one of Oxford’s more modern landmarks next door – Bill Heine’s famous Shark in the roof.”
Marcus said: “I have no argument with the apartment owner, but it just seems so unfair and inconsistent from the council. For me, it feels like insult to injury.”
Living opposite the Shark House is 71-year-old university lecturer Peta Fowler, who “loves” the property,
She said: “I love it. Everyone loves it. On the weekend all you see is people lined up just waiting to take photos with the thing. It brings so much happiness to everyone.
“If it ever gets taken down, I would be one of the first to sign a petition against it.
“My grandchildren are seven and ten, they are just obsessed with the shark so much, it has become a magical part of their childhood.
The Royal Standard, the pub next to the famous shark house reaps the benefits of the tourist magnet, according to 34-year-old manager James Patten, who said: “It would be a shame to see it turn to long-term letting.
“All the guests from that house come down for all their meals and drinks, so we get a bit of business from it.”
“It also is just such a big icebreaker with the guests and the staff, it is a big part of Headington, I mean it is odd you know – I live in Bristol, you are used to seeing wild and whacky things, but this is just another level this building.”
When contacted by The Sun, a representative from Oxford City Council directed the enquiry to an online statement from last year.
On 29 November 2023, the Council issued a planning enforcement notice against the owner of a property in New High Street, Headington, being used as a short let. The property is widely known as the Headington shark house.
This followed a complaint from a member of the public about a change of use to short let accommodation.
The owner appealed to the Planning Inspectorate, which has now dismissed the appeal and required the owner to stop using the property as a short-term let from 11 March 2025.”
Airbnb’s Terms of Service state that before hosts list a property, they follow local rules and regulations.
The online marketplace lets the hosts determine their own prices.
The Sun has approached the owner of the neighbouring apartment for comment.
