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San Francisco supervisors David Campos and Aaron Peskin want to curb the city's “illegal hotel” problem with a proposal to fine Airbnb $1k/day for each unregistered listing.
City officials believe unregistered listings on Airbnb and similar platforms are exacerbating the already acute housing crisis by permanently reducing the housing stock, ABC News reports. Campos says 75% of active hosts (around 6,000) on Airbnb are unregistered despite the requirement that all hosts register with the city.
The law was proposed Tuesday, but hasn't gone to committee yet. It will do so in 30 days. The homesharing firm has questioned the “legal enforceability” of the measure, adding it would streamline the registration process.
Campos tells Bisnow he isn't worried about any fight in the courts. "We worked closely with our city attorney for months to craft a legally sound ordinance," he said. "We are confident it will survive any legal challenge Airbnb throws our way."
The new proposal would place the burden of verification on Airbnb. The firm would have to pay a penalty of $1k for every day an offending listing stays on the platform.
Housing activist Jane Fieber applauded the move, saying it would bring accountability to the way Airbnb conducts business.
City Hall’s proposal comes after a mea culpa by Airbnb on the issue. The company offered to voluntarily delete any unregistered listings. [ABC]
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