AIRING OUT AIRBNB ISSUE
Policy debated for short-term rentals
Boston residents yesterday blasted short-term rentals by absentee landlords for taking housing units off the market, demanding Mayor Martin J. Walsh bar them in his proposed regulations for Airbnb and other renting services.
But other residents and local business groups that packed a City Council hearing yesterday insisted homeowners and tenants be allowed to host the appbased rental accommodations to help them offset the high cost of living in Boston.
Walsh’s proposal would require people who offer rooms through Airbnb and other short-term rental services to register with the city and pay fees. Homeowners who rent space in their own homes could do so year-round. Local landlords renting out otherwise unoccupied units in their buildings, and tenants subletting their apartments, could only do so for 90 days a year.
But many residents said they rely on short-term renters to stay in the city themselves, and said 90 days is too restrictive.
Dorchester resident Maria Montrond told councilors that she was in danger of foreclosure after a tenant stopped paying rent in the three-family home Montrond owns and lives in — but she was able to get above water by renting out through Airbnb.
Many speakers criticized a third category of “investor units” — apartment buildings or houses used solely for short-term rentals — which would also be limited to rent for 90 days a year under Walsh’s rules. The high prices for shortterm rentals mean that even space that is not used full time can make more money than rent from a traditional tenant, residents said.
“During the last three years we’ve seen an increasing number of whole units, whole buildings turned into Airbnbs,” said Karen Chen of the Chinatown Progressive Association. “Investor units should be eliminated.”
Ford Cavallari of the Alliance of Downtown Civic Organizations said he found 2 percent of Boston listers on Airbnb accounted for nearly 40 percent of rentals in the downtown area.
“We need to eliminate the investor category and work back from there,” Cavallari said. “We don’t want to become a city that’s hollowed out in the middle with rich people living in $10 million apartments and affordable housing for everyone else.”
A Walsh spokeswoman declined to say whether the mayor will consider eliminating the investor category.
“One of our goals with this proposal is to start a meaningful dialogue with all stakeholders. We look forward to continuing to have these conversations as we move through this process,” spokeswoman Nicole Caravella said in a statement.