Flyers name and shame Airbnb providers
Chinatown – 24 crowded blocks that have endured as a point of entry for generations of lowincome Chinese immigrants – has remained largely insulated from San Francisco’s gentrification wars. Until now.
In recent weeks, ‘‘Wanted’’ flyers have been posted around the neighbourhood, featuring the names and photographs of 12 Airbnb hosts. The crime in question? ‘‘Airbnb’ing our community’’ and ‘‘destroying affordable housing for immigrant, minority, & lowincome families.’’
‘‘It expresses a growing sentiment and a reality that the community is being exploited by speculators and unscrupulous players in the housing market,’’ said city supervisor Aaron Peskin, who represents the district that includes Chinatown.
‘‘There’s no question that there are an increasing amount of illegal short-term rentals throughout the city and in Chinatown.’’
Peskin said that just two weeks ago, he observed three French people leaving a Chinatown apartment building, rolling suitcases in tow.
‘‘Chinatown has generally been preserved and defended against gentrification,’’ said Joyce Lam of the Chinese Progressive Association, a group that organises workers and tenants in the neighbourhood.
Strict the zoning laws enacted during 1980s have protected the area’s stock of single-room occupancy (SRO) hotels, which serve as low-cost housing for newly arrived immigrants, as well as many elderly Chinese-Americans.
But units that once changed hands solely through word of mouth or Chinese-language flyers posted on the street are now popping up on Craigslist, Airbnb, and other short-term rental sites. Landlords had realised that they could earn more money renting to college graduates, single adults and white people, Lam said.
The average rent of SRO rooms has increased as well, according to the Chinatown Community Development Center.
One Airbnb host who lists four rentals in Chinatown defended his preference for tourists over tenants. ‘‘We rather leave rooms and apartment empty rather than renting because of rent control.’’
None of the people on the ‘‘Wanted’’ poster who currently have Chinatown units listed on Airbnb responded to requests for comment.