Stay up to date: Recent Airbnb legal issues that can affect your hosting business
Airbnb is the most well known and fastest growing vacation rental website around. However, with all of the press and recognition comes a number of potential legal issues that can affect vacation rental managers. As an Airbnb business professional, it’s important to know about the current legal issues that Airbnb is facing so you stay up to date regarding new laws and policy changes. Keep reading below to learn more about current Airbnb legal issues in some of Airbnb’s most popular US destinations.
Current Airbnb legal issues
New York, NY
Airbnb is facing criticism and pushback in the Big Apple in recent years. The housing market in New York is incredibly competitive and expensive. Airbnb has been accused of disrupting the market and making it harder for residents to find apartments because many professional vacation rental management companies are using their properties for short-term rentals and not for long-term housing. As a result, laws have been passed that make it harder for Airbnb hosts to operate. It’s now against the law to advertise or list an entire property for under a month. If vacation rental managers break this law, they can face fines of $50,000+.
San Francisco, CA
A similar situation to New York recently happened in the San Francisco and Oakland, CA area. With expensive rents and housing at a premium, Airbnb has had some legal issues related to the length of time a host can rent out their home. A law was passed in San Francisco recently that limits the number of time hosts can legally rent out their houses. Now, hosts can rent out their entire property for up to 90 days out of the year. However, if the host remains on the property during the rentals, they can rent out their home as often as they like.
Arlington, VA
Despite large cities like San Francisco and New York making it harder for Airbnb to operate, Arlington Virginia is trying to encourage more Airbnb rentals. This District of Columbia suburb recently legalized short term rentals. This law still limits rentals to 185 days per year, and there is a limit of six guests each night. So, despite the town being excited about Airbnb, they’re still trying to make sure people don’t take advantage of available homes in the area.
Want to read up on some more legal issues facing Airbnb? Read other Hosty posts about legal issues here and here.
Pro tip: As an Airbnb host, you have enough to deal with. Keep yourself organized with Hosty. We’re the professional vacation rental management software that can help run your business more efficiently than ever. Ready to try it for yourself? Click here for a free trial!
The last word:
Being a great Airbnb host takes diligence, especially when it comes to staying up-to-date with Airbnb legal issues. Make sure you’re always aware of the current Airbnb laws and policies in your city by creating a Google Alert. This way, when something changes you’re in the know. Add the terms “Airbnb,” “legal” and your city to a Google Alert. Then, when a new story is posted that has those terms, Google will send a notification to your inbox. Easy and efficient, just like Hosty.
