Cities and states across the U.S. have been actively addressing home-sharing ordinances this summer. They include:
Chicago: The Chicago City Council approved a shared housing ordinance in late June. The Chicagoland Apartment Association supported the ordinance and recognized three specific inclusions: 1) Property owners can opt-out by notifying the city that residents in their building are prohibited from the home-sharing industry, 2) Residents will be required to seek their property owner’s consent, and 3) Unadvertised guest suites, a decades-old amenity in some buildings, will remain unaffected. The ordinance limits the number of shared housing units to six per building.
New York: The New York State Legislature passed a bill that will ban the advertising of entire apartments on home-sharing sites like Airbnb. New York prohibits rentals that last fewer than 30 days if residents are not present, but posting listings for such rentals was not explicitly barred. If anyone does advertise such a unit, they could be fined up to $7,500. The bill now goes to Governor Cuomo for his review.
San Francisco: The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to require Airbnb and other home-sharing services to remove listings of unregistered units or pay fines of $1,000 per property, per day. Airbnb has since filed suit over the regulation, arguing that the measure violates federal laws protecting Internet privacy.
Denver: The Denver City Council recently passed an ordinance to allow short-term rentals in private residences. The measure gives property owners the ability to rent a primary residence for less than 30 days. Additionally, property owners will be allowed to rent out individual rooms or garage apartments on quiet residential blocks to people to use while traveling. Also, homes can be rented out when the property owner is away. The new rules take effect July 1.
While home sharing services are growing in popularity with consumers, potential issues for the apartment industry include resident lease violations, on-site security concerns, and questions around liability and property insurance. As state and local policymakers grapple with home-sharing and its impacts on their communities NAA continues to evaluate the policy implications of proposals to regulate the home-sharing industry.
Sources: Chicagoland Apartment Association, Gothamist, GlobeSt.com, San Francisco Business Times, Denver Post, National Multifamily Housing Council