PROPOSED AIRBNB LAW
District 3 Supervisor David Chiu has presented his plan for dealing with renters using Airbnb to short-term lease their apartments at rates their landlords can’t legally charge (see Reynolds Rap, page 1). The Small Property Owners of San Francisco Institute distributed a letter expressing the concerns of one property manager, who cited worries about “multi-unit buildings would become hotels facing common yet significant risks of the hotel industry, which include no background checks on guests …; escorts using rooms for illicit activities; party goers using rooms for temporary loud, obnoxious fun; [and] bed bugs being frequently brought into building.”
David Hantman, Airbnb’s head of global public policy, wrote in the company’s blog that Airbnb largely welcomed the legislation but there were “provisions in this proposal that could be problematic to our hosting community, including a registration system that could make some of their personal information public, so there is much work to be done.”
AFFORDABLE OR NO-FORDABLE?
District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim introduced a bill in April that would require a conditional use permit for any new market-rate housing in her development-heavy district if the production of subsidized housing for affordable units drops below 30 percent.
The San Francisco Housing Action Coalition responded with its concerns. “First, it appears to suggest that, by placing significant restrictions on new market-rate housing in D6, the production of subsidized housing will be increased, something that doesn’t sound logical. Second, at a time when we need to sharply increase production of new housing to address the enormous demand being placed on a chronically inadequate supply, this measure could add even more complexity and delays to a process that already has too many. It also appears to work directly against Mayor Lee’s plan to build or rehabilitate 30,000 new homes by 2020.”
CONDOS HIT PRERECESSION HIGH
Condominium prices in the city have topped $1,000 per square foot, a level not seen since before the Great Recession, reports San Francisco Business Times’ Blanca Torres. She notes “The trend reflects San Francisco’s housing market overall, where renters might pay $4,000 a month for a new apartment unit. That figure is similar to what people might pay for a condo — if they can get their hands on one.”
