Boston Mayor Wants to Limit Short-Term Rentals

Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh has proposed a bill "that would all but eliminate investor-owned apartments from being rented by the night," reports Tim Logan.

"[The bill] allow people to rent — short-term — a room in their home, or a spare unit in a two- or three-family building, if they own and live in the property," adds Logan.

Walsh believes this kind of legislation can prevent apartments being taken off the market and turned into "de-facto hotels," while also allowing the benefits promised of the "sharing economy": extra cash on the side.

Meanwhile, the Massachusetts State Legislature has spent some of its energy this year considering a tax on short-term rentals.