Rejoice Airbnb quasi-landlords, and reap the now legal, if limited, benefits of having rent control and a working internet connection. But don’t break out the champagne just yet, because the new short-term rental laws in place aren’t going to let you get away with running your own tiny hostel. On Tuesday, San Francisco Board of Supervisors finally acknowledged that barring Airbnb from a city plagued by untenable rent was unrealistic, “The status quo isn’t working; we have seen an explosion in short-term rentals,” said BOS President, David Chiu, who has spent over two years attempting to tackle the “Airbnb problem”.
The new restrictions overturn the lightly-enforced ban on rentals under 30 days, so that there is no limit for hosted rentals, but a 90-day limit for places where the host is not on site. The new law also carries the caveat that only permanent residents, whether they be renting tenants or property owners, have the authority to list their spaces and will have to pay an additional 14% hotel tax, register with the City Planning Department for $50, hold a half a million dollars in liability insurance, and abide by rent control laws (meaning that renters can't charge more than they pay for their places).
On the other side of the country, in New York, Airbnb just pulled 2,000 “sketchy” listings from its website, on the basis that either the master tenant was not going to be present during the stay, or that they were simply being used for illegal purposes, (read, brothels and unofficial hotels). As Airbnb’s valuation recently hit $10 billion, they’ve got a vested interest in self-policing their own industry, although they have been unwilling to pay back all the hotel tax they’ve avoided in San Francisco, some $25 million according to David Campos, but on that issue the BOS voted 5-6 and let Airbnb off the hook.
The new laws are expected to come into effect in February, along with some additional protections from real landlords-turned-slumlords, who’ve been in some hot water for attempting to evict current tenants in order to turn their buildings into illegal hotels.
Meanwhile vacation rental company HomeAway/VRBO is one of many groups unhappy with the new legislation. Since their purpose is to rent homes while the owner is away, they do not qualify for the residency limitation, and could potentially be put out of business with the new efforts on enforcement. Also unhappy are housing advocates who say that Airbnb and its ilk are taking rentable properties off the market and further convoluting the housing market for the benefit of the individual, but at the expense of the city.
But the city has spoken and Airbnb is finally legit, so clean out that extra broom closet, pick up a fisheye lens, hit up the City Planning Department, get some insurance, and post that sucker online for $500 a month. You know you need it.
[Via: SFGate, Engadget, NY Post; photo via Thinkstock]
Got a tip for The Bold Italic? Email tips@thebolditalic.com.