there has been concerned about the rapid proliferation of short term rentals (STRs) in our neighborhood and their significant negative impacts, including improper disposal of trash, loud parties and increased traffic. Entire buildings are being purchased and used for Airbnb.
These “fake hotels” are increasing at an alarming rate . Over 200 Airbnb units are being added in Boston per month according to the City’s data.
Mayor Walsh has introduced STR regulations that call for a ban on investor units. For homeowners, the ordinance still allows them to rent extra rooms in their homes or their whole home when they are away.
Please support the Mayor’s ordinance .
City Councilors are split. We urge you to voice your support for this ordinance to the Mayor and ALL City Councilors before the June 6th Council meeting when they could be taking a vote.
Please email the Mayor and all City Councilors an email that says “I support the Mayor’s Ordinance on Short-Term Residential Rentals.”
Hotels and commercial property are taxed at several times the rate of private homes. Hotel rooms are taxed additionally. On top of that come regulations, etc. Result is it costs upwards of $500/night to stay in a hotel room in Boston.
Private homes in Boston therefore are a better investment because they are essentially businesses that pay the same tax rate as Mrs. McGillicuddy.
Leftover bits of Marxism which says those factory owners need to pay more. Now you’re not happy with the results.
Yeah, it’s hard to believe those stupid regulations. Like demanding that:
– Rooms have fire escapes
– Properties have fire doors
– Wood-frame buildings have sprinkers
Etc., etc., etc.
How many people have been killed in residential fires in Boston in the last 5 years? How many people have been killed in fires at licensed hotels?
Firefighters in Somerville were put at extreme risk in January of 2017 when fire ravaged a residence being used as an Airbnb property. That property was raging inferno, three fully-involved floors of fire, people jumping out windows, siding melting on adjacent homes. Firefighters had no idea whether or not people were trapped inside or how many more dazed victims were wandering the streets on a bitter cold January night.
It certainly is possible to spend “upwards of $500/night” to stay in a hotel room in Boston. On the other hand, according to Google I can rent a room at the Marriott Long Wharf for a week in mid-July for $375/night, at the Fairmont Copley Plaza for $350/night, and at the “Beacon Street Guest House” for $179/night.
It is not “Marxism” to demand that rooms in a first-world city be safe and clean.
You better evict everybody in Somerville, SomervilleTom, because your city has like 12 properties that would meet code.
If you are looking for who is causing a crisis in affordable housing, look in the mirror.
You’re not making sense.
You’re making a preposterous claim about airbnb, and you’re tossing around language like “Marxist” to describe efforts to protect people from slumlords, predators, and firetraps.
You sound like an airbnb speculator.
We’ve used AirBnB almost exclusively on our last few major vacations. We even booked a traditional BnB through Airbnb for my trip to Bar Harbor last weekend. To me, it gives you an authentic taste of what really living in an area feels like.
That said, like any new technology, the government should pass common sense regulations to ensure people’s safety. Making sure an owner is an occupier is a sound one.
We’ve met all the owners of the AirBnB properties we rented from and they really were sharing parts of their home with us. This is distinct from opportunistic landlords renting out rooms that could have been used for legitimate housing. We have avoided those in our own stays and I think that’s a fair regulation.
So is a possible licensing mechanism to make sure we can keep track of who is renting out using the service for safety purposes. The lady we rented from in Portland for April break had to get a license from that city to conduct AirBnB and she appreciated that since it improves the reliability of the service for everyone and keeps housing costs down. Like the eventual fix to ride sharing, we want to accommodate a new and popular technology while cracking down on its abuses. There’s sensible middle ground here.