Post by High Priestess on Oct 17, 2015 18:54:25 GMT
I will be cross-posting this on the new Airbnb groups when those roll out in November 2015
San Francisco -- the fight to preserve Home Sharing in SF!! [ Edited ]
So I am reading the description of this new board as "discussions on local regulations and taxes".
What first comes to mind when I think of these issues, is --- San Francisco, home of Airbnb Headquarters, where there is a very tense fight underway, to try to preserve fair home sharing. Some of you may not know the full story, so I will present a short recap here.
IN February of this year, San Francisco passed short term rental regulations. You can read about those here:
sf-planning.org/index.aspx?page=4004
www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/overview-airbnb-law-san-francisco.html
pillowhomes.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/203365379-FAQ-San-Francisco-Ordinance-for-Short-Te...
Or you can google "San Francisco Short Term rental regulations" to find more.
Anyway, long story short, after passing this into law early this year, several San Francisco leaders turned around and said, only 2 months later, that the law wasn't working!! Well, the city of SF had sort of "rigged" the new law to make sure it didnt' work well, because they made it very difficult for hosts to register and get a permit to become short term rental hosts, something that was required. It was a tedious, arduous process. Many SF hosts reported that 3 months after they had registered, they still had not gotten their STR permit. Much paperwork was required. In addition, as a separate issue but one that influenced many hosts in their reluctance to register, the city of SF refused to accept AIrbnb as a Qualified Website Company in collecting TOT taxes from hosts and remitting them to SF, in spite of the fact that Airbnb had not only begun to collect TOT directly through its website, but also, had made a HUGE payment of back taxes to SF!! --- see article here about that --- www.sfgate.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/M-R-Airbnb-pays-tens-of-millions-in-back-6087802.p...
So, in spite of the fact that the SF treasurer had received tens of millions of dollars from Airbnb to cover back taxes owed by SF hosts to SF, the city of SF was now saying that Airbnb wasn't permitted to pay those, and acting as though it had not received those tens of millions, and sending out threatening letters to hosts, demanding that they pay their taxes to SF directly or be fined. It was a horrendous, ludicrous situation...and it's a whole story in and of itself. YOu can read more details on this if you care to in some of the above links.
Anyway, the law that was passed made registration so onerous, that not many hosts were able to show compliance with the law early on, as their applications were subject to 3 month delays. THose who had an axe to grind against Airbnb and short term rentals, used this issue of the few completed registrations, as an argument that hosts weren't complying. Also, SF city leaders were getting pressured by tenant and housing advocates to pass more restrictive laws. In case any of you dont know, San Francisco has the tightest housing market in the nation, and rents in SF are the highest in the nation, exceeding now those in Manhattan. So, in a situation like that, people want to find someone to blame for the city's housing woes. Though there have been many studies on this issue, demonstrating that the root of the housing problems lies with the city's failure to build enough new housing, as well as with the strict rent control laws which cause many property owners to prefer to take their properties entirely off the rental market rather than be subject to such restrictive and truly frightening regulations upon property owners. It is said that about 31,000 rental units have been taken entirely off the market in SF due to rent control laws which deter property owners from renting them.
So...the city leaders caved into the political pressures, and housing/tenant activist groups (like the one that marched in the June pride parade with a banner reading, "Eviction = Death"!) got signatures and put Proposition F on the ballot, due to be voted on November 3rd. By the time these new groups roll out for Airbnb hosts to read and participate in, the vote will have already been cast -- let's hope for the best.
A news article on Prop F;
www.sfgate.com/business/article/Would-SF-Prop-F-spur-Airbnb-suits-with-neighbor-6472468.php
This is a tense, scary fight and so much is at stake for San Francisco hosts. They are facing incredibly hostile and restrictive regulations which would "end homesharing as we know it" says Peter Kwan, founder of the Home Sharers (Inc.) organization, which heads up all the pro-home-sharing activism in SF. (See homesharersf.com/ and tinyurl.com/pxux5b2 tor read more details about Home Sharers and read about the history of this fight for home sharing in SF. )
Many SF hosts are spending long hours doing phone calls, get-out-the-vote drives, talking to neighbors, writing letters, and more. Peter Kwan has put an enormous effort into this, as have many active hosts in SF, and even if we don't live in San Francisco, or even in the Bay Area, they all deserve much gratitude from us because they are spearheading the movement for Home Sharing which is spreading across the USA. Peter and Home Sharers (I work with Peter and am a Home Sharers organizer too for other regions outside SF) have wisdom and tools/strategies to share, which are of value to all hosts who are interested in organizing. If you are dealing with your city starting to work on short term rental regulations, or wanting even to prohibit short term rentals, it's important that you start organizing and contacting other hosts in your area early on, to start letter writing and meeting with city council leaders, perhaps starting a petition on www.change.org. As well, Airbnb can help a lot, as they have a Community Mobilization Team which can help you get in touch with other hosts in your area, and come up with strategies for organizing and advocacy work. If you are in an area where your city is starting to address Airbnb hosting, contact Home Sharers Inc. to get some advice and strategies, and call/email Airbnb to ask for contact info for the Airbnb Community Mobilization Team, headed by Carlee.
San Francisco -- the fight to preserve Home Sharing in SF!! [ Edited ]
So I am reading the description of this new board as "discussions on local regulations and taxes".
What first comes to mind when I think of these issues, is --- San Francisco, home of Airbnb Headquarters, where there is a very tense fight underway, to try to preserve fair home sharing. Some of you may not know the full story, so I will present a short recap here.
IN February of this year, San Francisco passed short term rental regulations. You can read about those here:
sf-planning.org/index.aspx?page=4004
www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/overview-airbnb-law-san-francisco.html
pillowhomes.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/203365379-FAQ-San-Francisco-Ordinance-for-Short-Te...
Or you can google "San Francisco Short Term rental regulations" to find more.
Anyway, long story short, after passing this into law early this year, several San Francisco leaders turned around and said, only 2 months later, that the law wasn't working!! Well, the city of SF had sort of "rigged" the new law to make sure it didnt' work well, because they made it very difficult for hosts to register and get a permit to become short term rental hosts, something that was required. It was a tedious, arduous process. Many SF hosts reported that 3 months after they had registered, they still had not gotten their STR permit. Much paperwork was required. In addition, as a separate issue but one that influenced many hosts in their reluctance to register, the city of SF refused to accept AIrbnb as a Qualified Website Company in collecting TOT taxes from hosts and remitting them to SF, in spite of the fact that Airbnb had not only begun to collect TOT directly through its website, but also, had made a HUGE payment of back taxes to SF!! --- see article here about that --- www.sfgate.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/M-R-Airbnb-pays-tens-of-millions-in-back-6087802.p...
So, in spite of the fact that the SF treasurer had received tens of millions of dollars from Airbnb to cover back taxes owed by SF hosts to SF, the city of SF was now saying that Airbnb wasn't permitted to pay those, and acting as though it had not received those tens of millions, and sending out threatening letters to hosts, demanding that they pay their taxes to SF directly or be fined. It was a horrendous, ludicrous situation...and it's a whole story in and of itself. YOu can read more details on this if you care to in some of the above links.
Anyway, the law that was passed made registration so onerous, that not many hosts were able to show compliance with the law early on, as their applications were subject to 3 month delays. THose who had an axe to grind against Airbnb and short term rentals, used this issue of the few completed registrations, as an argument that hosts weren't complying. Also, SF city leaders were getting pressured by tenant and housing advocates to pass more restrictive laws. In case any of you dont know, San Francisco has the tightest housing market in the nation, and rents in SF are the highest in the nation, exceeding now those in Manhattan. So, in a situation like that, people want to find someone to blame for the city's housing woes. Though there have been many studies on this issue, demonstrating that the root of the housing problems lies with the city's failure to build enough new housing, as well as with the strict rent control laws which cause many property owners to prefer to take their properties entirely off the rental market rather than be subject to such restrictive and truly frightening regulations upon property owners. It is said that about 31,000 rental units have been taken entirely off the market in SF due to rent control laws which deter property owners from renting them.
So...the city leaders caved into the political pressures, and housing/tenant activist groups (like the one that marched in the June pride parade with a banner reading, "Eviction = Death"!) got signatures and put Proposition F on the ballot, due to be voted on November 3rd. By the time these new groups roll out for Airbnb hosts to read and participate in, the vote will have already been cast -- let's hope for the best.
A news article on Prop F;
www.sfgate.com/business/article/Would-SF-Prop-F-spur-Airbnb-suits-with-neighbor-6472468.php
This is a tense, scary fight and so much is at stake for San Francisco hosts. They are facing incredibly hostile and restrictive regulations which would "end homesharing as we know it" says Peter Kwan, founder of the Home Sharers (Inc.) organization, which heads up all the pro-home-sharing activism in SF. (See homesharersf.com/ and tinyurl.com/pxux5b2 tor read more details about Home Sharers and read about the history of this fight for home sharing in SF. )
Many SF hosts are spending long hours doing phone calls, get-out-the-vote drives, talking to neighbors, writing letters, and more. Peter Kwan has put an enormous effort into this, as have many active hosts in SF, and even if we don't live in San Francisco, or even in the Bay Area, they all deserve much gratitude from us because they are spearheading the movement for Home Sharing which is spreading across the USA. Peter and Home Sharers (I work with Peter and am a Home Sharers organizer too for other regions outside SF) have wisdom and tools/strategies to share, which are of value to all hosts who are interested in organizing. If you are dealing with your city starting to work on short term rental regulations, or wanting even to prohibit short term rentals, it's important that you start organizing and contacting other hosts in your area early on, to start letter writing and meeting with city council leaders, perhaps starting a petition on www.change.org. As well, Airbnb can help a lot, as they have a Community Mobilization Team which can help you get in touch with other hosts in your area, and come up with strategies for organizing and advocacy work. If you are in an area where your city is starting to address Airbnb hosting, contact Home Sharers Inc. to get some advice and strategies, and call/email Airbnb to ask for contact info for the Airbnb Community Mobilization Team, headed by Carlee.