Expect much tighter enforcement of short-term rental rules post-COVID19

Yup, this has been happening across the Country. It's one thing to live in a bucolic town and see people come in a couple times a year to spend a week or two at their vacation home-quite another to see potential virus spreaders invading your space. In our town there is a 30-day minimum on short term rentals, and owners have in the past sidestepped this requirement, all eyes will be on it now.

“The only cases in Greene County were brought here from downstate people so stay down there,” one man wrote. “Just because you have a second home up here doesn’t mean you have the right to put us at risk.”
Mayors, town supervisors and the governors of at least two states have warned part-time residents of tourist destinations to stay away.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/25/nyregion/coronavirus-leaving-nyc-vacation-homes.html?searchResultPosition=3

Interesting points. The requirement of "14 day quarantine" is likely to pretty much destroy leisure travel for foreseeable future. Until there is a vaccine, travel for pleasure is probably going to be way down.

AirBnB has been out of control in many locations. Stories of AirBnB empires with shell companies, fake names, and the like are increasingly common. While we have done some AirBnB, and a fair amount in Croatia (where the sobe system was the forerunner of the AirBnB system), I think you are right in that there will be a lot of tightening. It's not just COVID-19. It's costs of rentals driven up by tight supply. New York, London, Berlin, many large cities with increasingly tight supply of rentals are concerning. In addition, there are plenty of stories of people who have taken out long-term leases on apartments which depend on the short-term system to pay huge rental bills. These people have probably lost a lot of money.

And we can’t forget politics. Hotels are hurting and they’re more likely to have to ear of local politicos and urge them to tighten the screws on Air BNB in a slow travel market.

So, if you're thinking about renting through Airbnb or VRBO, do some
due diligence to make sure they're following local laws. (For example,
are they charging local taxes as required and showing a tax permit
number, where that applies.) Otherwise you could find yourself getting
thrown out of your rental or hassled.

Ditto, but then, apparently, you still have to worry about crazed vigilantes.

Here in the U.K. there has been a backlash against second home owners (notably Gordon Ramsay) being criticised for heading out of London to the countryside/coast.

There certainly isn’t the same sense of local pressure about quarantine situations here. We self quarantined for 14 days a month ago when we returned from Sri Lanka, but we weren’t under any local pressure to do so and we certainly weren’t given this advice on the flight or at Gatwick airport.

Rental prices in London on the whole haven’t been driven up by Airbnb, but by many properties being bought by Russians, Chinese and Arabs etc. Central London, where most short term renters want to stay is beyond the reach of most Londoners which is why we commute long distances.

On the whole, in normal circumstances, it’s better for the local economy to have short term renters buying food and spending their money than to have a second home sat unused for 50 weeks a year.

AirBnb; Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Moscow, London, Sweetwater; it's all the same.

Here in the U.K. there has been a backlash against second home owners (notably Gordon Ramsay) being criticised for heading out of London to the countryside/coast.

Or, more notably, certain members of parliament who should certainly know better. More of the "Do as I say......" hypocrisy.

where is social justice when you need it!

Can't imagine why you would see much change in the major European tourist centers?

Interesting note, Marcia, thank you for sharing.

I honestly don't care what it takes, but I want to see AirBnB go down

I consider that to be a little extreme. Yes, AirBnB has created many problems in high-touristed areas (like my home city). On the other hand, I've used them many times, mostly in rural areas in several countries (including my own state), and have had great experiences.

I honestly don't care what it takes, but I want to see AirBnB go down.
I am not being hyperbolic, I consider them to be one of the largest
organized crime organizations in the world, I can't believe it has
taken this long to crack down.

So is it just AirBnb or does that include the other platforms like VRBO, Hotels.com, etc? Or is it vacation rentals in general? How about people with vacation homes? All? Explain please.

Robert, those problems primarily exist in locations where the citizens don't hold their government accountable for regulating, or banning, them. Like any new concept or technology it takes a while to incorporate the concept into the legal and economic system in a productive way. "Cracking down" has been going on for years. Paris is shaping up to be a good example of a push in the right direction with positive results. Berlin went too far, saw the results, listened to its constituents, and pulled back a bit. The city where I own 2 short term rentals has had some growing pains with the concept but is finding it's way through limitations and restrictions. Democracies can be slow, but generally work better than the other options.

AirBnB is really eSobe. The Sobe system is apartments in Croatia, in houses or full apartments. This system has existed for many years. Rick Steves gained a lot of business by being the "AirBnB" of travel publications. His guidebooks have listings for many private renters. We rented from "your Hungarian Aunt and Uncle Estevan and Maria" in 2011, and again in 2014. They remain friends, although they are out of the business.

What AirBnB has done is make the transaction/location process simpler and smoother. There is AirBnB, booking.com, on and on and on. Many of them are actually preferred to AirBnB due to the restrictions for AirBnB.

So, when AIrBnB is eliminated, there will be others. And if it is actually annihilated (which seems unlikely), the others will simply step into the gap. The appetite for lower-cost rentals is huge. What is needed is regulation to ensure that short-term rentals do not interfere with normal rentals.

Most [many?] of the apartments are on multiple platforms (mine are). In some locations they have altered the fabric of the neighborhood considerable ... sometimes for the good for many, sometimes for the worse for many. Every neighborhood in every city in every country is unique and to fail to recognize this means a person needs to get out more.

I would imagine a significant number of the apartments in Prague's old town are short term. If they weren't, and the cost of rental went down, then I doubt that many locals would want to live in the center of Disneyland.

In Budapest, short term rentals revitalized large neighborhoods and made people who inherited their homes from the government after the Russian occupation ended rich but Eastern European standards. No property tax to speak of so no home loss due to high taxes when the values went up. The only losers were those that never lived in the neighborhood now cant afford to move there; but never would have dreamed of living there if the neighborhoods hadnt been revitalize by the short term rental market. Sort of a chicken or egg issue.

On Paris' Île Saint-Louis what were outrageously expensive Parisian weekend homes that rarely produced any income for the neighborhood (cause they sat empty most of the time) became weekend homes and short term rentals bringing people to the shops on the island.

In Amsterdam, if what I have read is correct, the concept drove up rental prices so much that locals could no longer afford to live in their desired neighborhoods. Of course the articles dont speak to if the locals that owned the apartments had somehow benefited from the situation. So are we picking winners and losers in life? Really dont know specific to that market.

In NYC it wold be interesting to know what factors make the short term rental market so profitable that 90%+ of the rentals are owned by 6% of the owners. Something has to be driving that because I dont think its typical for the concept. I suspect maybe rent control or something is playing a role or maybe its more similar to the Paris example... Just dont know.

In the location where I have my apartments they have become pretty tightly regulated. To the point that few new short term rentals will be coming on the market anytime soon. Which is okay. Its their City, not mine and they get to shape their community however they want. I think the net result will be that real estate values will fall and locals who own most of the neighborhood will lose a lot off their retirement investment. But its a wait and see sort of thing. There is absolutely ZERO profit in the business and I am in a very good market. So why? Because it makes it possible for me to own a "weekend" home and it pumps money into my favorite neighborhood.

Now if you just hate AirBnb and not the short term rental business, thats a different discussion.

I almost exclusively rent via local tourist boards in Europe. Some of these apartments have been holiday rentals for decades, if not generations. The only major change I expect is that they might all start asking for money upfront now. I've dealt with a few people in the past who did not want payment (in cash) until the day of arrival.

I haven't used VRBO for a number of years now and have not used Airbnb since they required a copy of my passport to make a booking.

Eventually, in a post vaccine world, I doubt this will be an issue. In the short term, I have a friend who rented an apartment on AirBnB specifically to self quarantine after arriving home from out of the country..

Here's a story of a health official in Scotland who took a couple of trips to her vacation property and who has now resigned:

"Police Scotland Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said officers had visited Dr Calderwood and issued a warning about her conduct.

Mr Livingstone said ""The legal instructions on not leaving your home without a reasonable excuse apply to everyone.

"Social distancing is the key intervention to curtail the spread of coronavirus and it is essential that the instructions are followed to protect each other, take strain from the NHS and save lives.

"Individuals must not make personal exemptions bespoke to their own circumstances." "

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-52177171?at_custom3=%40BBCBreaking&at_custom2=twitter&at_custom4=414B9EE0-7781-11EA-B66A-9E1B3A982C1E&at_medium=custom7&at_campaign=64&at_custom1=%5Bpost+type%5D

In my small town in rural Colorado, there are a lot of visitors in the summer. Perfect setting for people to buy a second home and make money by renting out as a short term rental. Problem is that this takes a lot of inventory out of the system, and people who work normal jobs struggle find affordable places to live. My neighborhood has 30 houses, six of which are vacation rentals. This really destroys the fabric of the community. You never know who is going to be occupying the house next door. They might have three couples with their jeeps and ATVs buzzing around on our dirt roads, they use the outdoor fire pit during a no-burn order, they are on vacation so they party every night, etc.

The County government has created an application process, but the $500 fee is not keeping people from applying for permits. Our HOA has also instituted a short term rental policy in an effort to get SOME control over these people who don't respect our community.

Are you in Colorado or Hawaii?

In this situation I would suggest that an individual that obeys the laws of a community is respecting that community.

My vacation home neighbors have been wonderful. Kind to me and helpful to our guests without exception. Glad my world is more reasonable/civilized than Hawaii, CO.

Regardless, can't imagine why COVD would have any long term impact on short term rentals except with the few that go into some sort of wacky seige mentality as a result of the virus and start blocking roads and burning tourists at the stake.

start blocking roads and burning tourists at the stake.

Maybe you read about the people blocking a road in coastal Maine. But no burning at the stake yet.

My vacation home neighbors have been wonderful. Kind to me and helpful to our guests without exception.

James, while I certainly hope this continues for you, I have to say that if I'm that neighbor I am suddenly extremely uncomfortable with new people showing up every so often, and I think it continues to be an issue for people in this situation until the world is back to whatever normal will be-I.D. bracelet showing immunity, etc etc.

I get that you are the head cheerleader for normal here, and that's great, but really, don't you feel they may have their doubts about this?

Dave,

I get that you are the head cheerleader for normal here, and that's
great, but really, don't you feel they may have their doubts about
this?

If you are right then we leave the world worse for our children than our parents did for us.

I'm the lifetime of my father and I there have been 2 world wars, spanish flu, Korea, Vietnam, the gulf wars, 911, 3 nuclear reactor disasters, russian occupation of half of Europe and a watch of the doomsday clock as it got within a few ticks of midnight. I don't think this compares to much of that, and yes, each changed thought but there hasn't been much change to human nature.

Ufkak, you think individuals and businesses should obey the law ..... as odd as it is to be in agreement with you ... we are. so your point is lost on me. Where Airbnb has been found to be in violation they have been fined, where individual owners have been found to be in violation, they have been punished. Paris is a good example of a well designed and implemented compliance system. The town my places are in is in the process of doing something similar. I welcome it as it puts us all on the same playing field. So, you can help by reporting every violation and treating those that work within the law with respect.

AirBnB's actual business model is to break the law.

I agree with this 100%. It is not true about the other booking platforms. From the very beginning, Airbnb has positioned itself as outside normal rules and legal regulations. It has facilitated hosts breaking several different kinds of laws, especially tax laws, and lobbied fiercely to be excluded from regulations that apply to hotels even while their platform functions more and more like hotel bookings. They comply with laws only after their lobbying efforts fail, and only to the very least extent possible.

As a separate issue, they have been institutionally insensitive to community concerns about the way their growth has impacted neighborhoods.

Both of these points are distinct from the prediction I made to start off this thread, that post-Covid19, communities will be more invested in helping to enforce existing regulations about short-term rentals in their midst, because of reasonable, non-xenophobic concerns about health. This is not a lack of hospitality, as a few posters in this thread have implied. And unless it gets out of hand, it is not vigilantism. It is a fact-based desire to keep their community healthy - a motivation that did not really exist prior to a month or so ago.

expect that the surrounding community will be much more on the lookout
for outsiders than previously and willing to report and/or enforce the
community's regulations about short-term rentals.

Why? Because they are likely to feel their own health and that of
their family is at stake, not just a matter of local taxes and
abstract rules.

Sorry, but the tone is very disturbing. It starts with the law, and taxes then proceeds on to rules and taxes dont matter, (indicating, that just the excuse) for defending the family from outsiders.

AirBnB discussions on RS are a lot like political or religious conversations. People see everything from their perspective and make it very black and white. Complaining that AirBnB uses lobbyists to further their interests while ignoring hotels doing the same thing on a much larger scale doesn't make sense to me. As laws and regulations are catching up to the new online economy, the legalities of short term rentals are being addressed locally, as it should be since one solution doesn't make sense everywhere.

Richard, the AirBnb attitude doesn't bother me. I can guess where it comes from. What scares me is the US and THEM attitude. Those people are dangerous to culture and society.

@marcia:

Both of these points are distinct from the prediction I made to start off this thread, that post-Covid19, communities will be more invested in helping to enforce existing regulations about short-term rentals in their midst, because of reasonable, non-xenophobic concerns about health. This is not a lack of hospitality, as a few posters in this thread have implied. And unless it gets out of hand, it is not vigilantism. It is a fact-based desire to keep their community healthy - a motivation that did not really exist prior to a month or so ago.

100% agree. "Xenophobia" is "an unreasonable fear of the other or outsider". Today, this definition has been perverted into "any opposition to outsiders". When there is a REASONABLE and CREDIBLE fear of the outsider, it is not xenophobia, but simple prudence, which is at work. I agree that this will lead to the outcome that you see coming.

Who get to define "unreasonable"?

Unless you plan to hug them all, I sort of dont see the risk. Medical burden? An excuse; cant picture that either; unless they hug you? No, it paranoia at best.

"but they have a legal right"
"damn their rights, block the roads, burn their homes"

What is the next norm of civilization that we will toss in the trash?
When do we start making our own laws since democracy isnt working the way we would want it.

I hope you guys are in the minority, or the predictions that this virus will change society are correct. Welcome to Mad Max's world.

It may be because I rent from Canada when I've rented Air BnB apartments; but I have never been asked for ID or a passport before, or when I initially make the booking.
??

Only when I arrive, which is standard in Italy for example.

But really, don't you feel they may have their doubts about this? Have you asked them if they are fine with business as usual save hugs?

These are my questions.

If you are right then we leave the world worse for our children than our parents did for us.

While I share this concern, right now that's a red herring.

In Hungary they will want your passport number too. Some ask for it in advance because technically they have 60 minutes (or was it 90) to get it in the government system and short term rentals dont really have an office or work place to make that sort of thing easy. The company that looks after my place says that only Americans get nervous over passport numbers so they try and be more patient and understanding with Americans.

Our HOA has also instituted a short term rental policy in an effort to
get SOME control over these people who don't respect our community.

Count yourself lucky. Our HOA is so old we have no rules about short term rentals. The HOA Board doesn't really have any teeth nor funds to enforce architectural rules. Our nominal HOA dues are voluntary and go to upkeep of the entrance sign. Developer did not create an HOA nor include it in the restrictive covenants back in the 1970s.. Changing them would be cumbersome and expensive.

Our city does have an ordinance on VRBOs --- a 90 day minimum rental. A year or two ago, the short term rental VRBO industry tried to have a state-wide bill passed that would allow their own interests to supersede any municipality's own short term rental laws or codes in our state. It got lots of kickback from citizens and did not pass, but they will surely be back.

Not many people care to live next door to a party house with weekly bachelorette parties, drunk driving, beer cans etc littering their lawns, and worse. It happens in the adjacent city and is a nightmare over there. I see enough news reports about nice young couples with children living next door to (and sometimes the other half of a duplex,) this type thing. Explaining to one's children why the people laying about the VRBO house's pool next door are naked is a parenting challenge nobody wants.

So, yeah, I'm not a fan.

Back to topic

Expect much tighter enforcement of short-term rental rules
post-COVID19

I would welcome that, but not sure it will be tops on government agency agendas.

Here is to hoping Air BnB and other similar platforms are vigorously monitored and follow local laws. I won’t ever use any of them. I will gladly pay more to stay at well established hotels. I’ve read enough articles over the past few years about the negative impact these businesses have had on major tourist areas and their citizens. Citizens have fled these areas due to escalating, outrageous housing/ apartment rents.

Here is to hoping Air BnB and other similar platforms are vigorously
monitored and follow local laws.

Ditto.

Part of the problem has been the new concept of holding the Newspaper accountable for legal violations committed by those that advertise in the newspaper. Yup, this isn't entirely the same, I know. But there are some of the same nuances and fining the way to address the situation has been experimental at best.

I keep going back to the Paris example. Its far from perfect, but each short term unit has to be registered and to be registered has to adhere to a set of rules for safety, location, rental days per years; etc. Then they are monitored by the government. If you want to advertise on any platform your registration number has to be present. All the government has to do is log on to AirBnb, select Paris and write down the ones that don't display a number. Then they fine the platform and the unit owner for non-compliance. Hungary is moving that way too. It will clean up a lot of the mess.

As for the social issues. Again, most of these are in democracies. I am not going to judge what a community that I know nothing about judges as best or worst value for the community. Berlin pretty much eliminated them, then had to undo it to some degree. Certain districts in Budapest have made it all but impossible and that's their right.

In some markets at some points in history it may help; in many markets at various points in history it may hurt. Even "help" and "hurt" is a subjective concept that only the community as a whole can make.

Finally don't forget, you will rarely see new that begins "Good thing happened today" only the reverse.

But I think its great you have options and exercise your right to choose. That's beautiful.

EDIT: Good conversations make me think and ask. So Ive done a lot of reading. Here is the best I found. https://ipropertymanagement.com/research/airbnb-statistics It exposes the good, the bad and the ugly and appears to be factual and objective. One issue that they need to clarify for the reader is the term "Host". The Host is the person that represents the unit to the public for rental. "Host" and "Owner" are not one and the same. For instance, I use a management company to run my place. That company is "Host" for about 9 other units; so in the statistics that host "has" ten units. That's a bit misleading, and maybe AirBnb needs to make owners better known to the renters. The management companies I am familiar with take a cut to let guests in, check them out, pay the bills, do the maintenance, etc. Their share of the gross income is generally 30% to 50% and they work hard to earn it if they do a good job. No one supports the community to set their own standards than I do. No one wants greater enforcement of the laws than I do.

Diane, i agree. We will only stay at hotels when we travel.