City of Boston, Airbnb reach agreement over short-term housing regulations

BOSTON — The City of Boston and short-term housing giant Airbnb have reached an agreement over regulating rentals in the city.

Due to the rising cost of housing in the city, Mayor Marty Walsh has put in place regulations specific to the city's demand for short-term rentals. The new short-term rental registration system is stricter than in other cities Airbnb operates in, but will help the company crack down on illegal listings.

Under the agreement, Boston will require owners to register their units and comply with city ordinances in order to remain eligible to be used as a short-term rental in the city.

The most recent settlement also prevents property owners from monopolizing on short-term rentals across the city.

"My goal in regulating short-term rentals has always been to responsibly incorporate the growth of the home-share industry into our work to create affordable housing for all by striking a fair balance between preserving housing and allowing Bostonians to benefit from this new industry," said Mayor Walsh. "I'm pleased we were able to reach a settlement with Airbnb, and continue our important work ensuring that Boston remains a home for all residents."

Limited share and home share units must always be owner-occupied, which means the owner has to prove they have lived in the property for at least nine months out of the year and plan on living there for another nine months.

As of Sept. 1, Airbnb will have a function that displays the hosts to show their required city-formatted registration number. By Dec. 1, all listings will be required to show that number. Airbnb will also inform users on how to properly comply with city regulations.

Key data will be shared with the city, including the listing's unique ID/URL, submitted registration number, unique host ID, listing information, and listing zip code.

Finally, under the settlement agreement, the city can notify Airbnb of any listing they believe is ineligible under Boston's short-term rental ordinance. Unless the host complies with Boston's short-term rental registration process in thirty days, Airbnb will remove the listing from its platform.

Under the new regulations, short-term rentals are classified in three different categories:

- Limited share unit: Private bedrooms or shared spaces in an owner's primary residence. The owner and operator has to be present during the rental and occupancy is limited to three guest bedrooms or six guests. The owner has to pay a yearly fee of $25 to the city.

- Home share unit: A whole unit available for short-term rental at the owner's primary residence. The fee for this type of rental is $200 per year.

- Owner-adjacent unit: In an owner-occupied two- or three-family building where a secondary unit is listed as a short-term rental. The yearly fee for this type of rental is also $200.

The regulations also protect renters of the short-term rental unit by prohibiting any property with outstanding housing, sanitary, building, fire or zoning code violations from being listed. Owner-operators are also required to notify abutters, or any residential dwelling within 300 feet of the short-term rental unit, that their unit has been registered with the city within 30 days of getting their license.

If a unit does not qualify for short-term rental, the owner could opt for listing their rental as a long-term rental, or a rental stay of 28 consecutive days or longer.

A spokesperson for Airbnb told Boston 25 News in a statement:

"Our goal has always been to work with the City to find a path forward for home sharing in Boston. With this settlement agreement, that is what we have collectively achieved, establishing an effective regulatory framework for compliance. We are proud that we have forged this comprehensive solution with the City and look forward to working with our community to make them aware of their role within this new framework."

For more information on short term rentals in Boston, visit the city's website here. Airbnb also has a page dedicated to providing resources for both renters and owners here.

Cox Media Group