Vacation rental and housing crisis

New calls for rent control in Sonoma County’s tight housing market“Rents soared nearly 50 percent from 2011 to 2016, and have risen to new heights since October, when the North Bay was hit with the most destructive wildfires in state history.”

“In New York City alone, according to the report, Airbnb’s expansion may have raised average rents for city residents by $400 per year. And that’s when someone can find a place to rent at all—or hang on to their existing housing. A March 2015 report by Pasadena public radio station KPCC noted that perhaps as much as 12.5% of the housing in Venice Beach had been converted into short-term rentals. Landlords have also been accused of evicting current tenants in Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco, and New Orleans.”

Vacation rental and housing crisis

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Supporters of Airbnb held a rally on the steps of New York City Hall showing support for the company in October 2015 as the New York City Council debated how to regulate the controversial company.
Local, state governments struggle over how to regulate short-term rental nightmare

For some people, short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb work like a dream, providing a potentially less expensive way to travel or an opportunity to make a bit of extra money on the side.

That’s the case with Kelly Speth, a graduate student in Ann Arbor, Michigan, who, along with her medical resident husband, rents out the top half of their duplex. “For us it’s like perfect because we’re able to have our friends and family come visit, but we also have some extra income coming in to help pay for our property taxes,” Speth said.