Posted on 12/30/2018 11:26:53 AM PST by Kaslin
>We’ve been covering this story for a while, so we knew it was coming, but now it’s official. Massachusetts has passed a new law that was basically designed to run Airbnb out of business in their state. Governor Charlie Baker has signed it and it takes effect in July. Baker and his supporters continue to issue bizarre claims about how they’re being “fair” to all sides, but what this boils down to is a huge win for the lobbying interests who forced this issue through behind the scenes. (Boston Globe)
Governor Charlie Baker on Friday signed first-of-its-kind legislation to tax and regulate the short-term housing rental market in Massachusetts, capping years of debate over how to navigate an industry that has exploded through companies like Airbnb.
The new rules will take effect July 1 and could transform a market that spans the state, from Cape Cod summer homes to Boston apartment buildings to Western Massachusetts vacation retreats.
The bill requires every rental host to register with the state, mandates they carry insurance, and opens the potential for local taxes on top of a new state levy. A chief negotiator for the House said the goal is to register every short-term rental in the state by September, and local officials, including in Boston, say the new law will help buttress their own efforts to regulate the booming market.
Baker is touting this as a compromise which he claims is able to, “avoid placing undue burdens on occasional renters.” This is nonsense, of course, because in order to qualify for the exemptions to most (though not all) of these new burdens on hosts, you can only rent out your room for a maximum of fourteen nights per year. For most hosts, that’s not going to be worth the bother of signing up for the app in the first place.
And what are these burdens? First of all, anyone with a spare room will now have to carry the same type of insurance as a hotel chain, basically wiping out any profit they might make. On top of that, they’ll be paying a 5.7 percent state tax, plus another 6% tax if municipal or county governments decide to impose one.
Further, hosts will be legally required to list themselves on a publicly available registry. Proponents claim this allows neighbors to know who is renting out rooms to “strangers” but it’s obviously intended as an intimidation tactic, opening up hosts to public shaming, abuse or worse.
The bottom line here is that the hotel industry and their lobbyists have won a massive victory. They don’t like private citizens cutting into their business so they’ve greased the palms of enough politicians to essentially shut Airbnb down in the state. As the New York Times reported more than a year ago, leaked documents from the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) revealed, “a multipronged, national campaign approach at the local, state and federal level.” The goal of that campaign was to enlist elected Democrats to pass laws which would choke the life out of Airbnb and protect their profits. They specifically mentioned Boston as one of their key target markets, and now they have succeeded in bribing the state government to shut Airbnb down.
It’s true that some people have begun “abusing” the system by purchasing large amounts of property and renting it out like a hotel using the app service. Perhaps a law like this might have been more palatable if it were applied only to people with more than ten rental units or something along those lines. But for all the private individuals with an extra room or a guest house who were using the system as originally intended and making a little extra money, this basically shuts them out of the game.
Airbnb already has one lawsuit in progress against Boston for similar municipal laws they passed earlier. Now they’re saying a new suit against the state may be coming. But if they find no satisfaction through the courts we’re probably seeing the beginning of the death of the gig economy along with the chance for private citizens to profit from their own homes or apartments.
I agree with you, there are real issues involved here beyond someone “crushing” the little man. Uber/Lyft and AirBNB are the Napster and the Ecstasy of today, existing in a temporary fantasy land of total freedom from government intervention.
Not only are they the most corrupt “Rats” in the nation, but most of the Massachusetts legislators are flaming butt pirates, who despise with a passion all the normal heterosexual couples and singles. This is just another avenue through which the faggots may attack normal Americans.
this is how politics work...you pay off the politicos so they can “legally” crush your competition.....
That’s why we need to ban lobbyist from State and US Congress. Felony if give money or gifts to Senator, Rep States and Federal..
This’ll hurt, Massachusetts is high on my vacation list... Not.
Why shouldn’t hosting laws be applicable to both Airbnb and hotels? Most Airbnb is power users anyway (ie businesses). Not sure why hotels must have insurance, fire safety, etc but a company running 30 units on Airbnb would be exempt?
Go for it. AirlBnB destroyed my neighborhood in Florida. People were buying properties sight unseen to rent them for wedding parties. The locals have objected. But under Florida state law, localities can not regulate them.
This is no longer the person renting out their spare room and wanting to meet you and tell you the good stuff in town. It’s a not very good hotel, the same price or even more than a decent hotel, managed by one of the local management companies. It doesn’t pay hotel taxes, doesn’t have hotel cleanliness or safety - and ruins your neighborhood.
AirB and B is a kind of scam. It skirts around laws that protect tenants and legitimate businesses like hotels that pay taxes and have to maintain standards of cleanliness in rooms in
I tried Airbnb in Ireland one time on a business trip and they put me in a room with gay lover boys next door (the landlord).
Airbnb needs to be regulated like hotels are regulated. Otherwise you’ll have trouble finding good hotels and motels where the staff keep the place up.
In a word, Airbnb is not “fair trade”. In principle it sounds good, but longer term it causes problems.
I hate to agree with Charlie Faker Baker, but this time he’s right to regulate.
exactly what I was thinking.
And you would be wise to avoid buying a home next door to an Airbnb.
Unless, of course, you enjoy having a party going on next door 24/7/52, which includes having a continual stream of heaven only knows who next door, being in close proximity to people who are always on vacation (which means that while you’re on normal working schedule, you are awakened often during the week by car doors slamming and outdoor conversations in the middle of the night even when there isn’t an actual party going on), having your home and anyone at your home being curiously watched by strangers, and, if you’re lucky, finding the occasional drone flying above your property.
The scumbuckets who bought the house next door didn’t have the courage to tell us their plans so they lied, which didn’t go over well with us when their Airbnb opened.
Thankfully, a few months ago they sold to a couple who live there now and things are back to normal neighborhood living.
Shoulda stopped there. "Regulation" of how you use your property is just a government taking without the cash.
AirBnb makes abusive real estate behavior easy and faceless and AirBnb makes lots of money from it. Want to create a flop house that violates zoning and fire codes? Or illegally sublet your rental? AirBnb is for you!
AirBnb only have themselves to blame for this.
Unless, of course, you enjoy having a party going on next door 24/7/52, which includes having a continual stream of heaven only knows who next door, being in close proximity to people who are always on vacation (which means that while you’re on normal working schedule, you are awakened often during the week by car doors slamming and outdoor conversations in the middle of the night even when there isn’t an actual party going on), having your home and anyone at your home being curiously watched by strangers, and, if you’re lucky, finding the occasional drone flying above your property.
In addition, said AirBnB people won't inform the neighbors of the loud noises and disruptions, and parties that go on to 3:30 a.m.
Unlike the local transportation agency, which will give written warning to neighbors about nighttime construction dates and hours.
AirBnB should block every legislator that voted for it, and every member of the hotel lobby that dreamed it up from ever being able to use the app in the future. And you know they’ll try, bunch of hypocrites.
Of course they will, after all what right do you have to maintain bedrooms that you don't actually need?
Right.
And the owners of the home next door to us weren’t invested in our community at all. We’re in Colorado and they were in Tennessee.
So many people today have no consideration for other people.
And potentially rent it out.
Actually, I want to go to Springfield MA to visit the Basketball Hall of Fame. I'm doing a Hall of Fame tour next year. All of the sports' Hall of Fames are lined up neatly along the route.
Hotels at the price of Airbnb are usually horrible. Our county requires a real person to be within a short drive of the house. That person can be called by any neighbor or law enforcement with a complaint and has to respond "immediately" by law. The houses can be inspected and must have working smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, etc. Finally the renter has to fill out a plan, notify neighbors and get approval annually.
There needs to be a balance between property rights of all involved, the owner and the neighbors. Other parties who might be affected like hotels can stuff it.
Require the unused bedrooms to be given to illegal immigrants.
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