The popular home renting company Airbnb has begun setting limits on how often its users can rent out their homes. These limits will especially apply to homes in London, Amsterdam and San Francisco. This began when San Francisco homeowners were found to have been illegally renting out their homes. The Bay Area Investigative Unit uncovered thousands of people across the city that were renting their homes out under the radar.
Since the incident, Airbnb stated that in London and Amsterdam homeowner are restricted to renting out their homes for no longer than their city ordinances allow unless necessary paperwork proving otherwise can be provided. London homeowners will be restricted to rentals ninety days per year while Amsterdam homeowners will be cut down to only sixty per year by 2017, which is the same time frame given to San Francisco users.
Homeowners have found out that they can make more money leasing out to part-time occupants versus full-time. In order to rent out a home in San Francisco, you must be the primary resident of the home. San Francisco hosts must also have the home registered, which is $250, and obtain a permit for renting the home out.
San Francisco and Airbnb have had a rocky relationship for the last few months. The company sued the city of San Francisco this summer to block a law which will issue fines and penalties to Airbnb and companies like it if users didn’t follow San Francisco’s regulations for rentals. A press secretary for Airbnb said, “We look forward to working with San Francisco on solutions and have been able to do so in other cities.”
While the city and the home-sharing company hash things out, a federal judge has placed the law on hold. In response, Airbnb posted on its website, “We want to be good partners. [We] continue to lead our industry on this matter, and ensure home sharing grows responsibly and sustainably.”
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