By Cheryl Miller
July 14, 2015
SACRAMENTO — A measure that would tighten rules governing Airbnb Inc., HomeAway Inc. and other short-term rental operations in San Francisco has qualified for the city’s November ballot.
The Department of Elections certified the initiative just before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday rejected the more restrictive of two proposed amendments to its existing short-term rental ordinance, which critics and supporters alike agree lacks a feasible enforcement mechanism.
“It’s time for reasonable limits on short-term rentals and meaningful enforcement of the law,” Jennifer Fieber, co-executive director of the San Francisco Tenants Union, said in a prepared statement. “The Board of Supervisors is incapable of fixing the fatally flawed legislation it approved last year, because it’s captive to special interests.”
The initiative is backed by a group calling itself ShareBetter SF, which includes tenants’ advocates and organized hotel labor. The measure would cap the number of nights a unit could be rented at 75 per year, regardless of whether a host is present or not. Current city law limits rentals to 90 nights a year if the owner is away; owners who stay on site can rent a portion of their residence for as many nights as they want.
The initiative would also fine home-sharing platforms up to $1,000 a day for listing unregistered short-term rentals. It would require both hosts and hosting sites to provide quarterly reports to the city on the number of nights a unit was rented. And it would create legal remedies for neighbors of illegal rental units if the city doesn’t act.
A split Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved amendments supported by the mayor and Supervisor Mark Farrell that will rely on a new Office of Short-Term Rental Administration and Enforcement, and not mandated reporting by short-term rental operators, to ensure compliance with the city’s vacation-rental rules.
Contact the reporter at cmiller@alm.com.