Mercer County towns need to pass Airbnb laws, now
A Mercer County resident - let’s call him MCR, as he doesn’t want his name here lives on a quiet suburban street, ina quiet suburban town.
It’s really a lovely place to raise a family, which is exactly what MCR is doing. He knows all his neighbors, plenty of coffee and chats on weekend mornings at the bottom of the driveway, kids riding bikes, all of it. A little bit of suburban bliss.
Until a motel opened up next door, and I’m being quite literal.
The house next door was on the market. It was bought. It was refurbished to make it, arguably, the swankiest house on the block. Neighbors were rightly excited; it went on the market for a much higher price than they could’ve hoped.
Well, maybe too high, as it didn’t sell. And, in fact, it may appear the owner didn’t want to sell it, as they own a bunch of other residential properties in and around Mercer County. All of the others are listed on Airbnb. And is due time, so was this one.
And all of a sudden this quiet street in a quiet town where everyone knows each other is home to a place where for $200 a night, up to 10 people can bunk down. Maybe they’re a family from out of town going to Sesame Place. Or perhaps they’re a group of business people in town for a meeting. Or perhaps they’re 10 fraternity bros looking for a weekend of cocaine and hookers. You really never know what you’re going to get.
“The fact is you don’t know who’s coming and going,” MCR told me. “If it was the owner who lived there and sometimes rented out his house, at least I can say to him, ‘hey, those last guys who rented were a real sh*t show. But it’s not that. This is just people buying residential properties and running it - and there’s no better word like a motel. Listen, if you live in your house, and go on vacation, and want to rent out your house when you’re not there for 10 days, god bless. But this is not that. This is people buying houses and turning them into motels.”
Listen: I’m all for the free market, capitalism, blah blah blah. But come on: Every town council in Mercer County owes it to their residents to immediately pass ordinances regulating Airbnb and related companies. And these ordinances should make their towns terrible places for Airbnb and related companies to do business. When someone buys a home, they deserve, at the very least, their neighborhood not turning into a hotel zone. It’s ridiculous.
And we wouldn’t be alone. Jersey City is in the midst of passing an Airbnb law that would limit owners from renting more than 60 days a year. Other New Jersey towns are looking into ordinances.
Moving further afield, Los Angeles all but banned Airbnbs from becoming a cottage industry. Its law, scheduled to go into effect November 1, would allow homeowners to rent their homes for 120 days a year, but only their primary residence. Second homes and investment properties would not be allowed to be rented out.
So far, MCR hasn’t encountered any major problems with the renters. But there have been issues.
“Parking issues, one group had five cars parked on the front lawn, someone backed into a wall by the driveway,” MCR said. “Another group had probably 20 people there - the limit is supposed to be 10 - and they were all hanging out, loud, on the front porch.”
To be clear: MCR isn’t against parties, either. Of course neighbors should be allowed to host people and have fun. But these aren’t neighbors. They are unvetted strangers.
“People are coming and going on a regular basis every two or three days,” MCR said. “This is a quiet neighborhood, kids walking home from school, and now we don’t know who’s around.”
Airbnbs have a place in our society. But it’s not as investment properties in the middle of a residential area.
Take note, local town councils.