Airbnb’s new logo called a belo, is supposed to symbolize connectedness.
A law proposed by Supervisor David Chiu would legalize the widespread practice of people renting homes or rooms to travelers through sites like Airbnb, VRBO and Flipkey. Planning commissioners will hold a public hearing on the proposal Thursday, Aug. 7. Their recommendations are advisory. Next, Chiu’s proposal and Planning’s ideas will be heard by the Supervisors’ Land Use Committee in September before going before the full Board of Supervisors sometime in the autumn.
What S.F. law says now
- Residential units cannot be rented for less than 30 days unless they have a conditional use authorization (an expensive permit to run a B&B).
- The B&B permit is not allowed in areas zoned for single-family residences (which encompass much of the city).
- Both the Planning and Building Inspections departments enforce the ban on short-term rentals.
What Chiu’s legislation would do
- Allow short-term rentals in buildings with two or more units for up to 90 days a year.
- Allow unlimited short-term rentals of entire single-family homes, and of rooms (when a host is present).
- Allow short-term rentals of primary residences anywhere in S.F., subject to other provisions.
- Require short-term rental hosts to be permanent S.F. residents (275 days a year); register with the city; keep two years’ of records; carry $150,000 in insurance (the platform could also provide this); not charge more in any month than their monthly rent if they are subject to rent control.
- Require rental platforms (i.e., Airbnb, VRBO) to collect and remit hotel tax, and to inform hosts of regulations and tax obligations.
- Penalize violators with a one-year ban on short-term renting.
- Allow lawsuits by “interested parties,” including neighbors, city departments and housing nonprofits.
- Have the Department of Building Inspections enforce the regulations.
- Create a city registry of hosts with their names redacted and restrict other information to Sunshine Act requests.
- Require landlords to let tenants fix violations of the new law before using them as grounds for eviction.
More information at http://tinyurl.com/lzkruyl
How the Planning Department would change Chiu’s legislation
- Give the Planning Department the authority to enforce the regulations and to issue citations.
- Track how many nights each unit is rented, and require the hosting platforms to report this info to S.F. every quarter.
- Show the registry info on a map on the Planning website.
- Limit single-family homes and rooms (as well as multiunit buildings) to 90 days a year of short-term rentals.
- Make it a violation to list a property on Airbnb, VRBO, etc. without registering it with S.F. Require an S.F. registration number with all short-term rental postings.
More information at http://commissions.sfplanning.org/cpcpackets/2014.0707T.pdf
How Airbnb hosts would change Chiu’s legislation
- Allow short-term rentals for up to 180 days a year.
- Use a permit process rather than a registry and keep the information private, except as required by Sunshine Law.
- Allow short-term rentals of in-law units that are mainly used by family members.
- Specify that hotel tax liability is not retroactive.
- Cap registration fees at $100.
- Amend the list of “interested parties” who may file lawsuits to exclude housing nonprofits and include landlords.
- Specify what documents are needed to prove permanent residency and not require 60 days of consecutive residence.
More information at https://sites.google.com/site/hspositionpaper/home
