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Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie proposed a bill today that requires Washingtonians who rent homes on sites like Airbnb to be limited to one property. It also creates a new short-term rental business license, and people who don’t obtain it will be penalized.
McDuffie, who heads the committee on business and economic development, says the new regulations will help preserve D.C.’s affordable housing inventory.
“The city lacks a coherent regulatory scheme for short-term rental housing, allowing bad actors to take those units off the housing market,” McDuffie said in a release. “This has been going on long enough: it is time to create a clear, enforceable legal framework so that those who are exploiting the lack of regulations are stopped, and those who want to practice responsible home sharing can come into the light.”
Under the new law, D.C. hosts can only rent one property—the place where they actually live.
“Commercial operators using Airbnb, not homeowners looking to earn a little extra money, have been abusing short-term rentals by gobbling up affordable housing units and converting them into illegal hotels, helping to make D.C. one of the most expensive places to live,” said Valerie Ervin, of the Working Families Party, in the release. “The mothers and fathers who work and live here will never have a fair shot at making ends meet until we level the playing field and stop this abuse.”
People will have to get a new license that’s specifically designed for short-term rentals. And if they don’t, they will be fined up to $1,000 for the first violation, $4,000 for the second violation, and $7,000 for the third and subsequent violations.
In addition, the host has to be present during the stay unless its offered as a vacation rental, which has a maximum of 15 cumulative nights each year.
And online platforms will have to ensure that hosts have the proper licenses, remove listings that aren’t in compliance, and inform prospective hosts about what it takes to use their site in D.C. Platforms can be fined $1,000 for each booking that’s in violation of the new law.
Airbnb says that it agrees that home sharing should be regulated and has been working with the city for over two years, but strongly opposes McDuffie’s bill. “This current proposal is unworkable and a clear nod to hotel-industry funded organizations eager to attack regular families sharing their homes to protect the industry’s bottom line,” according to Airbnb spokesperson Crystal Davis.
The city plans to use half of the money from fines to go toward the general fund, and the other half will go into the Housing Production Trust Fund that assists in creating low-income housing in the city.
The proposed legislation will now go to the D.C. Council chairman, who will refer it to a committee, which will have a hearing before it goes back to the full council for a vote. If enacted, hosts would have 120 days to get the new licenses.
Short-term Rental Regulation and Affordable Housing Protection Act of 2017 by Christina Sturdivant on Scribd
