Airbnb hosts face fees in city worried about affordable housing
As home-sharing becomes a popular alternative to hotels, urban housing markets are getting tighter.
That's why Boston's Mayor Marty Walsh filed a city ordinance to regulate short term rentals like Airbnb — his plan would charge Airbnb hosts fees for renting out their properties, as well as limit the number of days a unit can be rented out.
"This ordinance is an important step towards our goal of reducing housing costs by creating disincentives to take units off the market for use as short-term rentals," Mayor Walsh said in a statement Monday, "It also allows for the continued use of short-term rentals in scenarios that are non-disruptive to our neighborhoods and support our tourism industry."
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Under the three-tiered plan, the city of Boston would charge Airbnb hosts annual fees: $25 for hosts who rent a bedroom or private space, but still live in their homes full time, and $100 for hosts who rent out their entire homes, but still reside there at least nine months out of the year. And hosts who own "Investor Units" — residences that they don't live in at all - will be charged a whopping $500 per unit.
Airbnb hosts also can't rent out investor units for more than 90 days, to protect affordable housing in neighborhoods with high tourism.
The statement cited a December 2017 study that found an association between the number of Airbnbs and rent increases in a neighborhood.
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In some cases, Airbnb units have completely replaced long-term leases. A recent feature in Commonwealth Magazine profiled a developer profiled a developer who bought an entire apartment building in Boston's Chinatown — that once housed several families — and turned the building into an Airbnb hotel.
According to Airbnb, over 3,000 Boston residents used Airbnb to "help pay their mortgage, rent, and bring tourism dollars to neighborhood businesses" in 2017. The company also claimed that 80 percent use their primary residences for home shares.
A statement from an Airbnb spokesperson reads: "We are pleased that the city of Boston is making progress on regulations for our home sharing community, and will continue our review of the full proposal."
Boston joins Vancouver and New York in cracking down on long term home-sharing. Singapore has also heavily regulated Airbnb, fining two hosts $148,500 for illegally renting out apartment units.
Mayor Walsh's ordinance still needs approval from city council.
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UPDATE: Jan. 23, 12:24 p.m. PST: Updated with Airbnb's comments
