Post by High Priestess on Mar 28, 2016 20:36:07 GMT
See the article:
www.vancouversun.com/business/Airbnb+explosion+Vancouver+neighbourhoods+edge/11809016/story.html
Until 2 months ago, the residents of Vancouver’s Alexander Row didn’t know much about the wildly popular short-term rental service Airbnb.
“I thought Airbnb was like a home-exchange type of thing, where people from other countries come … and you exchange homes,” said Charlene Brooks, who owns one of six row houses in the small Gastown development.
But she learned exactly how Airbnb works when her husband received a note from someone interested in buying a neighbour’s home. The potential buyer wanted assurances from the other owners that they’d be fine with him listing the suite on Airbnb, something he’d done a whopping 65 times over an 18-month period in his current condo.
“That’s when we realized that this was something that we didn’t want,” Brooks said, explaining that the idea of allowing a revolving door of strangers into the building made her nervous.
She was surprised to learn that Vancouver’s bylaws forbid rentals of less than a month without a hotel or bed and breakfast licence, and felt little was being done to enforce the rules. Right now, city staff are only enforcing the rules against illegal short-term rentals when they get a complaint.
www.vancouversun.com/business/Airbnb+explosion+Vancouver+neighbourhoods+edge/11809016/story.html
Until 2 months ago, the residents of Vancouver’s Alexander Row didn’t know much about the wildly popular short-term rental service Airbnb.
“I thought Airbnb was like a home-exchange type of thing, where people from other countries come … and you exchange homes,” said Charlene Brooks, who owns one of six row houses in the small Gastown development.
But she learned exactly how Airbnb works when her husband received a note from someone interested in buying a neighbour’s home. The potential buyer wanted assurances from the other owners that they’d be fine with him listing the suite on Airbnb, something he’d done a whopping 65 times over an 18-month period in his current condo.
“That’s when we realized that this was something that we didn’t want,” Brooks said, explaining that the idea of allowing a revolving door of strangers into the building made her nervous.
She was surprised to learn that Vancouver’s bylaws forbid rentals of less than a month without a hotel or bed and breakfast licence, and felt little was being done to enforce the rules. Right now, city staff are only enforcing the rules against illegal short-term rentals when they get a complaint.