Post by High Priestess on Feb 17, 2016 4:07:46 GMT
More and more cities around the world are catching up to the reality of the Sharing Economy and are working to pass regulations on short term rentals. The existing laws (meaning any laws that cities may have had on the books already for quite some time) on short term rentals in most areas of the US are often very outdated, irrelevant, unclear, dont' address home sharing, and in general do not well apply to Airbnb hosts. So cities are working to get current.
Here are four ways cities get information about what kind of short term regulations to pass:
(1) They look to other cities' regulations, particularly cities which are most like theirs (similar size/demographics, similiar economic or tourist issues, similar housing issues or lack thereof, similar median income level and similar residential areas).
(2) They get information about what is going wrong, from news reports, AIrbnb "horror stories", news stories of hosts exploiting Airbnb and doing illegal listings (eg subletting, sometimes subletting more than one apartment, without landlord permission -- or renting out many entire apartments in a city where long term housing is scarce and expensive).
(3) They get information from city residents who are concerned about or in opposition to Airbnb in that city, sometimes with stories about problems with a neighbor's Airbnb guests.
(4) They get information directly from Airbnb when they ask questions (some cities work directly with Airbnb on some questions).
(5) They get information from reports about Airbnb, which are often biased against short term rentals and have an aim of demonstrating how short term rentals cause problems, such as decreasing available long term housing or increasing rents. For instance, They may look at www.insideairbnb.com or the report by Alex Marquesse.
(6) They get information from Airbnb hosts by letter, email or by personal testimony.
If you are a host concerned with what regulations on short term rentals your city will pass, it's best to get involved as soon as possible, and learn as much as possible about what is going on and what your City Council is considering. It's usually too late if you find out only the day before the final vote that the City Council is taking, after 1 year of work, where it plans to pass regulations, or where it plans to ban short term rentals. If you are getting involved at the very last stages your input will be much less effective than it would have been had it been provided earlier in the process.
When considering what kind of input to give, consider the context. The more you know about what the entire context is, into which you are providing information, the more effective you can be with what you provide. In this sense, it is very helpful to know not only your LOCAL context, the particular issues and concerns and stories about short term rentals in your area, but also the larger context -- what other cities in your area or state or region have done, and as well, some of the short term rental concerns that have come up around the world and what concerns have led to what types of restrictions or requirements.
LOCAL CONTEXT is composed of:
(1) The existing laws or lack thereof on short term rentals.
(2) Any problems with short term rentals that have arisen, and most especially, any COMPLAINTS that have arisen about these --officially filed complaints. Your City should be able to provide info about those.
(3) The political situation on short term rentals in your area -- how many people oppose short term rentals or have concerns? What groups if any oppose or are concerned? Hotel lobbies? Tenant groups? Concerned neighbors? Find out who is concerned about STR's (Short term rentals) in your area and find out specifically what their concerns are.
(4) The views of your City Council and Planning COmmission members on the matter. Have any expressed their views? Have they written draft regulations? Read the info you can obtain and see what you are facing. Perhaps your City Council is relatively open to short term rentals. Perhaps they are quite opposed. Perhaps most are open but a couple are opposed --- find out the concerns of those in opposition.
(5) Housing issues -- it is an extremely common argument, not without some validity, that without any regulation, people would be turning long term housing into short term rentals right and left, evicting tenants to Airbnb their property, their eyes lit up with dollar signs. So please be prepared for such concerns, in many communities.
(6) "dont' disrupt my peaceful quiet residential neighborhood with your guests coming and going at all hours, parties, and I don't know who my neighbors are anymore it used to be Greg and Linda but now it's someone different every day I'm scared I dont' know those people they might be criminals -- this is not what I signed up for when I plunked down my half million to buy a house here." (This one statement summarizes the most common concerns that neighbors express about short term rentals in their area)
(7) Your own situation in your immediate neighborhood, the history of your doing STR's there -- I hope it's been very quiet and serene and your neighbors have hardly noticed you are having guests over.
(8) The FEARS that many may have about what will happen if certain things are not done to regulate, restrict, enforce or prohibit certain aspects of short term renting.
When you give input to City Council or Planning Commission, it is good to give both written and in person input. Letters are helpful for all that they can convey, but personal testimony is more powerful in many ways. Keep in mind if you take part in this process, that the vast majority of Airbnb hosts in your area either have no interest in participating or are afraid to participate in this process because they may fear repercussions from speaking publicly, particularly if you live in a small town. The fear of repercussions from the City is usually without basis, but one needs to consider repercussions from neighbors, particularly if you have any hostile or crazy neighbors. It is possible, for those who want to, to give testimony anonymously, without giving your name , or using a pseudonym. You need not state your full name in letters or in personal testimony.
When giving input, consider what input has already been given, and where yours will fit into that. Consider too what information has not been presented to the Council, what parts of the picture they have not yet heard, and also consider carefully what their concerns and interests are.
For instance, in the early stages of city's regulatory process, it is generally very good for hosts to tell their own stories about hosting, what hosting has meant to them, how they have benefitted by it, how their neighbors have benefitted ("my neighbor, an 87 year old widow, likes to meet all my guests -- she says it makes her feel like she is traveling, and she can't go out and can't walk well, so this means a lot to her") , how businesses in their area have benefitted ("The average Airbnb guest spends $100 per day on businesses in our area.... " -- you can get info from Airbnb to make some of your points --) and basically paint as wholesome and unthreatening an image of your hosting as possible.
However, as the city proceeds along the regulatory process, they will have specific questions that they are working on, and then it can be better for you to present factual information which helps address their concerns/questions. For instance, the City of Berkeley, California is unusual in its hosting patterns, in that a very large number of hosts are doing short term rentals with their ADU = Accessory Dwelling Unit. The fact that hosts brought this to the city's attention early on, and presented MANY stories of people who were using their ADU as a short term rental who would never be able to use it as a long term rental (eg because they needed it available for family visits every few months, etc), helped the city realize this was an issue they really needed to consider -- so they studied it rather than simply banning these units initially from being used as Short term rentals.
Read some of the posts in the HOme Sharers of the East Bay Board, where I have put several letters that hosts have written to their City Council or Planning Commission.
Example letters:
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/1002/letter-piedmont-planning-commission-council
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/1643/letter-sent-danville-town-council
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/123/proposed-letter-berkeley-council-ebhomesharers
It's important to STAY POSITIVE in your testimony. If you have a negative attitude you wont' be heard well. Also dont' go in with unrealistic expectations. If a city plans to regulate short term rentals, it is not of much use to go in and say "Government should get the hell out of my bedroom and stop trying to regulate every nook and cranny of our lives" , even if that is really exactly how you feel. If you want the best outcome, be wary of saying exactly what you think, but rather, say what has a good chance of being heard, and what fits into the political landscape you are facing and is "politically astute" testimony.
Be realistic in your expectations. MOst of us would prefer there to be NO regulations on how we rent our homes or space in our homes, but the political reality is that we are mostly going to get some type of regulations. So be resigned to that, and instead of pushing for no regulations at all, try to get "fair and reasonable" regulations. Argue about fairness and the impact of proposed regulations on hosts and hosting.
Be considerate of City Council member's time. IF there are 50 hosts lining up to speak at one City Council meeting, please don't go on and on and on, you will annoy the councilmembers by taking up so much of their time. If there are only 2 hosts there to speak, you can spend more time speaking. (Often there is a time limit in public testimony 2or 3 minutes is common) Since public testimony time is limited, make sure to write a letter that contains all the points you want ot make at greater length.
Here are four ways cities get information about what kind of short term regulations to pass:
(1) They look to other cities' regulations, particularly cities which are most like theirs (similar size/demographics, similiar economic or tourist issues, similar housing issues or lack thereof, similar median income level and similar residential areas).
(2) They get information about what is going wrong, from news reports, AIrbnb "horror stories", news stories of hosts exploiting Airbnb and doing illegal listings (eg subletting, sometimes subletting more than one apartment, without landlord permission -- or renting out many entire apartments in a city where long term housing is scarce and expensive).
(3) They get information from city residents who are concerned about or in opposition to Airbnb in that city, sometimes with stories about problems with a neighbor's Airbnb guests.
(4) They get information directly from Airbnb when they ask questions (some cities work directly with Airbnb on some questions).
(5) They get information from reports about Airbnb, which are often biased against short term rentals and have an aim of demonstrating how short term rentals cause problems, such as decreasing available long term housing or increasing rents. For instance, They may look at www.insideairbnb.com or the report by Alex Marquesse.
(6) They get information from Airbnb hosts by letter, email or by personal testimony.
If you are a host concerned with what regulations on short term rentals your city will pass, it's best to get involved as soon as possible, and learn as much as possible about what is going on and what your City Council is considering. It's usually too late if you find out only the day before the final vote that the City Council is taking, after 1 year of work, where it plans to pass regulations, or where it plans to ban short term rentals. If you are getting involved at the very last stages your input will be much less effective than it would have been had it been provided earlier in the process.
When considering what kind of input to give, consider the context. The more you know about what the entire context is, into which you are providing information, the more effective you can be with what you provide. In this sense, it is very helpful to know not only your LOCAL context, the particular issues and concerns and stories about short term rentals in your area, but also the larger context -- what other cities in your area or state or region have done, and as well, some of the short term rental concerns that have come up around the world and what concerns have led to what types of restrictions or requirements.
LOCAL CONTEXT is composed of:
(1) The existing laws or lack thereof on short term rentals.
(2) Any problems with short term rentals that have arisen, and most especially, any COMPLAINTS that have arisen about these --officially filed complaints. Your City should be able to provide info about those.
(3) The political situation on short term rentals in your area -- how many people oppose short term rentals or have concerns? What groups if any oppose or are concerned? Hotel lobbies? Tenant groups? Concerned neighbors? Find out who is concerned about STR's (Short term rentals) in your area and find out specifically what their concerns are.
(4) The views of your City Council and Planning COmmission members on the matter. Have any expressed their views? Have they written draft regulations? Read the info you can obtain and see what you are facing. Perhaps your City Council is relatively open to short term rentals. Perhaps they are quite opposed. Perhaps most are open but a couple are opposed --- find out the concerns of those in opposition.
(5) Housing issues -- it is an extremely common argument, not without some validity, that without any regulation, people would be turning long term housing into short term rentals right and left, evicting tenants to Airbnb their property, their eyes lit up with dollar signs. So please be prepared for such concerns, in many communities.
(6) "dont' disrupt my peaceful quiet residential neighborhood with your guests coming and going at all hours, parties, and I don't know who my neighbors are anymore it used to be Greg and Linda but now it's someone different every day I'm scared I dont' know those people they might be criminals -- this is not what I signed up for when I plunked down my half million to buy a house here." (This one statement summarizes the most common concerns that neighbors express about short term rentals in their area)
(7) Your own situation in your immediate neighborhood, the history of your doing STR's there -- I hope it's been very quiet and serene and your neighbors have hardly noticed you are having guests over.
(8) The FEARS that many may have about what will happen if certain things are not done to regulate, restrict, enforce or prohibit certain aspects of short term renting.
When you give input to City Council or Planning Commission, it is good to give both written and in person input. Letters are helpful for all that they can convey, but personal testimony is more powerful in many ways. Keep in mind if you take part in this process, that the vast majority of Airbnb hosts in your area either have no interest in participating or are afraid to participate in this process because they may fear repercussions from speaking publicly, particularly if you live in a small town. The fear of repercussions from the City is usually without basis, but one needs to consider repercussions from neighbors, particularly if you have any hostile or crazy neighbors. It is possible, for those who want to, to give testimony anonymously, without giving your name , or using a pseudonym. You need not state your full name in letters or in personal testimony.
When giving input, consider what input has already been given, and where yours will fit into that. Consider too what information has not been presented to the Council, what parts of the picture they have not yet heard, and also consider carefully what their concerns and interests are.
For instance, in the early stages of city's regulatory process, it is generally very good for hosts to tell their own stories about hosting, what hosting has meant to them, how they have benefitted by it, how their neighbors have benefitted ("my neighbor, an 87 year old widow, likes to meet all my guests -- she says it makes her feel like she is traveling, and she can't go out and can't walk well, so this means a lot to her") , how businesses in their area have benefitted ("The average Airbnb guest spends $100 per day on businesses in our area.... " -- you can get info from Airbnb to make some of your points --) and basically paint as wholesome and unthreatening an image of your hosting as possible.
However, as the city proceeds along the regulatory process, they will have specific questions that they are working on, and then it can be better for you to present factual information which helps address their concerns/questions. For instance, the City of Berkeley, California is unusual in its hosting patterns, in that a very large number of hosts are doing short term rentals with their ADU = Accessory Dwelling Unit. The fact that hosts brought this to the city's attention early on, and presented MANY stories of people who were using their ADU as a short term rental who would never be able to use it as a long term rental (eg because they needed it available for family visits every few months, etc), helped the city realize this was an issue they really needed to consider -- so they studied it rather than simply banning these units initially from being used as Short term rentals.
Read some of the posts in the HOme Sharers of the East Bay Board, where I have put several letters that hosts have written to their City Council or Planning Commission.
Example letters:
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/1002/letter-piedmont-planning-commission-council
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/1643/letter-sent-danville-town-council
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/123/proposed-letter-berkeley-council-ebhomesharers
It's important to STAY POSITIVE in your testimony. If you have a negative attitude you wont' be heard well. Also dont' go in with unrealistic expectations. If a city plans to regulate short term rentals, it is not of much use to go in and say "Government should get the hell out of my bedroom and stop trying to regulate every nook and cranny of our lives" , even if that is really exactly how you feel. If you want the best outcome, be wary of saying exactly what you think, but rather, say what has a good chance of being heard, and what fits into the political landscape you are facing and is "politically astute" testimony.
Be realistic in your expectations. MOst of us would prefer there to be NO regulations on how we rent our homes or space in our homes, but the political reality is that we are mostly going to get some type of regulations. So be resigned to that, and instead of pushing for no regulations at all, try to get "fair and reasonable" regulations. Argue about fairness and the impact of proposed regulations on hosts and hosting.
Be considerate of City Council member's time. IF there are 50 hosts lining up to speak at one City Council meeting, please don't go on and on and on, you will annoy the councilmembers by taking up so much of their time. If there are only 2 hosts there to speak, you can spend more time speaking. (Often there is a time limit in public testimony 2or 3 minutes is common) Since public testimony time is limited, make sure to write a letter that contains all the points you want ot make at greater length.