San Francisco’s “Painted Ladies.” Short-term rentals in San Francisco continue to raise controversy.
San Francisco, one of the first cities to work out an arrangement for legalizing short-term rentals, has amended the law passed in October to address complaints of widespread violation by hosts. The amendment creates a city office to enforce the terms of the law.
Under the law, hosts are allowed to rent out their dwellings for up to 90 days in a calendar year while staying elsewhere, or for an unlimited number of days if they stay in the apartment with the guests. The law also requires registration and insurance. Opponents claim that there are wholesale violations of the day limits; the new Office of Short-Term Rental Administration and Enforcement is designed to address that. Opponents claim there is still no way to track where the host is sleeping.
Another amendment, which did not pass, would have changed the limit to 75 days, and removed the distinction between hosted and unhosted rentals. The sponsors of that change have gathered signatures to put it on the ballot as an initiative for this fall’s election.
Photo: Alex Proimos / Wikimedia
