Ford Cavallari, Chairman of the Alliance of Downtown Civic Organizations, explained the recently passed AirBnB ordinance at the June North End / Waterfront Residents’ Association (NEWRA) meeting last Thursday. Watch the video above and follow along with this summary.
This new ordinance essentially bans investors. If you are not a resident owner, you can’t have an AirBnB in the city (8:00). The residency requirement is 270 days in order to qualify as a resident for this ordinance.
There is no cap on the number of days you can list for two and three family homes. In the North End and most of the downtown, we don’t have many of these units. This is more for the outer districts, all of whom voted for this (10:20).
Every six months there will be a review process to look at the housing impacts (11:30).
As of November 2017, there were 172-189 North End units listed on AirBnB (13:10). 62% of these units would be disqualified following the new owner occupancy requirements. 33% more of the units are questionable as to whether or not they would be allowed.
The number of North End AirBnB units that would qualify to be listed under the new ordinance would be reduced to eight.
Only ten of the currently listed North End units are two and three family units. Of those, only three would still be allowed under this ordinance (15:56). A reminder that the exception only applies to two and three family units – above that number, does not qualify for the exception.
This ordinance will be enforced by the Inspectional Services Department (ISD) and Department of Neighborhood Development (18:06). ISD will build or buy a system that will interface with the AirBnB system. It will lock you out unless you’re registered with the City and meet the criteria.
Following Ford’s presentation, Michael Bonetti from City Councilor Lydia Edwards’ office read a brief statement from the Councilor reiterating the passing of the short-term rentals legislation (25:28). In addition to what Ford shared, Michael noted the creation of a public registry of short-term rentals with ISD.
Read more NorthEndWaterfront.com coverage of short-term rentals here.
Thank you Lydia Edwards
Thank you, Councilor Edwards, for your vote to preserve long-term housing and promote affordability. Thank you, Ford Cavallari, for your YEARS of hard work and astute organization and presentations on the extent and adverse impacts of short-term housing. You and your fellow ADCO neighborhood representatives deserve lots of praise.