成人X站

SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Don: Airbnb, VBRO regulations will force rentals into an underground market

Jun 18, 2016, 8:35 AM | Updated: 8:36 am

As Seattle considers placing regulations on operators of Airbnb, VBRO, etc. there are others arguing that the city is pursuing a misplaced “one-size-fits-none” approach to solve a housing crisis.

Count 成人X站 Radio’s Ron and Don among them. They question if the regulations are appropriately aimed — or will even work.

Related:

Under the proposed regulations — which have yet to be officially drafted — properties that aren鈥檛 occupied by permanent residents would be prohibited from having more than 90 nights of short-term rentals per year. Council member Tim Burgess is spearheading the effort and argues that the regulations could free up housing for Seattle’s long-term renters — residents who cannot afford to live in town.

“Their logic is that we have a shortage in housing stock, therefore if we clamp down on Airbnb, that will increase the housing stock — the rental stock,” Ron said. “And people will then be able to afford rent in the City of Seattle. That is absolutely faulty logic.”

Ron argues that the housing being used for services such as Airbnb are not the same stock as the rental market — it’s not housing apt for rentals. Also, the city estimates that the regulations will affect hundreds of units — which is a small drop in the bucket when it comes to housing.

The city believes that 80 percent of Airbnb providers would not violate the 90-day rule and therefore would not be affected by any regulation. Those who rent for longer than 90 days would be required to get a business license and pay applicable taxes, as well as share quarterly rental data with the city.

That will have one result, according to Don.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 going to happen is it鈥檚 just going to go underground,” Don said. 鈥淚 think a lot of it already has. I see this going on in my neighborhood in the same way I see a lot of building going on in my neighborhood and nobody is reporting it to the city.”

鈥(Hosts) will take a lot of tax money and stick it in their pocket,” he said. “And let鈥檚 face it, there is not an Airbnb police force. If someone breaks into your car, in most parts of the city, the police aren鈥檛 coming. So let’s say a neighbor reports you because you are renting out an apartment or space that you have, maybe you get a letter in the mail — probably not — but I don鈥檛 think anyone is coming.”

I-5 shooting...

Jason Sutich

Deadly I-5 shooting near Boeing Field disrupts morning commute, causes 3-mile backup

Authorities investigate an I-5 shooting causing significant traffic delays near Boeing Airfield in Seattle this morning.

18 minutes ago

orcas...

MyNorthwest Staff

Voices beneath the waves: Orca vocalizations聽

Recent studies suggest that Bigg's orcas may have more vocal variation than once thought.聽

23 minutes ago

FILE - Student negotiator Mahmoud Khalil is seen at a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on the Col...

Associated Press

Mahmoud Khalil requests transfer from Louisiana jail after judge blocks his release

NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 Attorneys for the Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil requested that a federal judge immediately release him on bail, or else transfer him to New Jersey to be closer to his family, as the Trump administration seeks to keep him in custody in Louisiana. The latest request, filed Monday afternoon, follows a whirlwind […]

24 minutes ago

FILE - Joey Chestnut, winner of the 2021 Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eatin...

Associated Press

Joey ‘Jaws’ Chestnut to return to Coney Island hotdog eating contest after contract dispute

The champ is coming back to chomp. Competitive eater Joey 鈥淛aws鈥 Chestnut announced Monday he will return to compete in this year’s Nathan鈥檚 Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest after skipping last year’s gastronomic battle for the coveted Mustard Belt. 鈥淭his event means the world to me,鈥 Chestnut, 41, said in a message […]

29 minutes ago

FILE - Students walk through Harvard Yard, April 27, 2022, on the campus of Harvard University in C...

Associated Press

Judge extends order suspending Trump’s block on Harvard’s incoming foreign students

BOSTON (AP) 鈥 President Donald Trump鈥檚 order to block incoming foreign students from attending Harvard University will remain on hold temporarily following a hearing Monday, when a lawyer for the Ivy League school said its students were being used as 鈥減awns.鈥 U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston extended a temporary restraining order on Trump’s […]

31 minutes ago

Orlando residents Jakob Strawn and Nef Bayliff, foreground, reflect on the scene at the Pulse night...

Associated Press

Pulse nightclub: A haunting look inside before the mass shooting site is razed

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) 鈥 Nine years after a gunman opened fire in an LGBTQ+-friendly nightclub in central Florida, killing 49 people, bullet holes can be seen in walls while glittering disco balls and lit-up bulbs on dressing room mirrors make the venue seem frozen in time. The Associated Press and other media outlets on Monday […]

33 minutes ago

Don: Airbnb, VBRO regulations will force rentals into an underground market