Mayor Walsh today announced a new proposal for dealing with short-term rentals that would by default bar investors from buying up units or even entire buildings and offering rentals on Airbnb and similar sites.
Under the proposal filed with the City Council for its consideration, investors could still offer units for short-term rental, but only if they could convince the zoning board to grant them approval to switch residential units to commercial - a potentially lengthy process involving public hearings in which nearby residents could have their say.
Walsh's proposal, backed by at-large City Councilor Michelle Wu, who had earlier offered her own proposed regulations, would let occupants of apartments, condos and houses offer space via Airbnb and its ilk under certain conditions:
- Anybody could rent a private bedroom or shared space in the owner's primary residence, provided the owner paid a $25 annual licensing fee.
- Homeowners could rent out their primary residences - for up to three months out of the year, upon payment of a $200 annual fee.
- Owners of two or three-family buildings, in which they live, could rent out one or more of the units they don't occupy for up to 120 nights per year - as well as list their priimary residence for rent at any times, for a $200 annual fee.
The proposal would bar rentals in units that have safety, sanitary or zoning violations altogether.
In the preface to his proposed ordinance, Walsh said he decided to strip out the investor-owned units he would have initially allowed after talking to residents over the past couple of months:
Bostonians want to be able to access the economic opportunities that short term rentals can provide, but they recognize the importance of establishing reasonable regulations that limit certain short term rental uses in a way that protects long term housing from being converted to commercial short term rental use. ... Ultimately, we decided that this type of short term rental use in residential units was not what most Bostonians wanted, so we've removed it from the policy.
In a statement, Wu said:
This ordinance offers reasonable regulations of short-term rentals to close corporate loopholes, protect our housing stock, and stabilize neighborhoods. I'm proud to support this legislation as the Mayor and City Council work together to stem Boston's housing crisis.
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Comments
For sure
By tmrozzie
Thu, 05/10/2018 - 11:09am
I was booking a rental for an overseas trip and the past week swayed me entirely away from AirBNB and back to VRBO/Homeaway. Not that some of these issues aren't the same on those platforms, but they're not actively fighting reasonable regulation from what I can tell.
This is happening to me
By Frank Rizzo
Wed, 05/09/2018 - 3:32pm
This is happening to me realtors from Lexington are buying up units in my building in boston and renting via Airbnb. These units are affordable and should not be rented but they don't care and no one regulates it.
So report it
By Bish
Wed, 05/09/2018 - 6:53pm
Probably no one on the government knows it is happening. And if those are deed restricted afforidible units, call DND and report them. File with 311.
Holy crap
By anon
Wed, 05/09/2018 - 3:45pm
I'm very pleasantly surprised with this proposal.
If this goes through, Marty Walsh will be my hero.
LOL. The communities are not
By .
Wed, 05/09/2018 - 4:13pm
LOL. The communities are not going to see a dime of this money.
The money is not for the
By MattyC
Wed, 05/09/2018 - 5:15pm
The money is not for the community, it is to fund the enforcement of the regulations, as said above.
Regulations that didn't exist
By Will LaTulippe
Wed, 05/09/2018 - 6:18pm
Until government invented them. Why should the community have to pay for the city to invent a job for somebody?
Because the community has
By Banrion
Thu, 05/10/2018 - 10:49am
Because the community has been asking their elected representative aka the government to do something about the unregulated hotels that have been destroying their neighborhoods and draining housing stock. It's literally what happens in civil society with a functioning government.
$25 a year sounds reasonable enough
By djc1414
Wed, 05/09/2018 - 4:14pm
Now if we could only get the City to process the licenses for less than $25 we'll be getting somewhere.
The City of Boston is a joke
By anon
Wed, 05/09/2018 - 4:24pm
The City can not even enforce vehicles with out of state plates from parking in areas that are posted for resident parking.
Have you tried 311?
By MattyC
Wed, 05/09/2018 - 5:15pm
Have you tried 311?
#doyourjob
By anon
Wed, 05/09/2018 - 9:09pm
If the BTD was doing their job 311 would go the way of the pay phone. From the amount of "illegal parking" complaints on 311 BTD is not doing their job or the citizens of the City are beating them to the vehicles.
#waaaaaaaaaaaa
By MattyC
Thu, 05/10/2018 - 9:38am
The city is a community of people. Contribute or whine, your choice.
311
By anon
Thu, 05/10/2018 - 4:58pm
The app for rats. Rat out your neighbor instead of being a man and talking to them. Boston is a city of passive aggressive rats.
I suppose it would be too much to ask
By UHub-fan
Wed, 05/09/2018 - 4:49pm
to ban investor-owned units of all kinds?
[ducks behind couch]
Walsh proposal Sounds
By anon
Thu, 05/10/2018 - 7:16am
Walsh proposal Sounds reasonable. As an Airbnb user the income i generate via rentals (all recorded by airbnb via 1099 btw) allows me to do updates to my unit that i would not be able to afford. So as a small landlord it has helped. I also think it has been a boon also for run down properties in frindge neighborhoods that until recently have been ignored by investors/ home seekers.
In Europe these type if rentals are called “pensiones” or something similar. There is an obvious need for them. I also believe many more people are able to travel to places they would not have before due to the cost of hotel stays. So these people who visit are spending money in local and downtown restaurants, taxis, shopping.
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