Stricter Homesharing Limits Hurt Housing Affordability
Placing stricter limits on homesharing does almost nothing to increase housing supply and only makes things worse for homeowners that rely on short-term rental income to make ends meet, according to an analysis the Bay Area Council Economic Institute released this week. The study examined a proposal by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to reduce the number of days homeowners participating in homesharing services like Airbnb can rent rooms from 90 to 60 days. Critics blame homesharing for reducing affordable housing supply. However, the stricter cap would do little to increase supply and the analysis finds that 1,500 hosts will lose income amounting to $11 million a year. Among those hosts, that loss of income translates into 300 households seeing their housing-to-income cost ratio rise above the 30 percent that is considered the threshold for affordability. Although the Supervisors approved the tighter cap, it could still face a veto by Mayor Ed Lee.
