The District of Columbia has approved final regulations for short-term rentals like Airbnb that limit rentals to owner-operated units and cap vacation rentals at 90 days.
Washington, D.C.'s Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) has finalized regulations governing short-term rentals in the District. As Nena Perry-Brown reports, the new rules state that "short-term rentals must be operated by the owner of the unit, and each owner-host must acquire a short-term rental license from DCRA." The regulations also allow hosts to rent their home as a vacation rental for up to 90 days.
Critics accuse short-term rental companies of exacerbating the housing crisis by reducing the number of units available for long-term renters and spurring gentrification. Meanwhile, residents in neighborhoods with short-term rental properties have expressed concerns about parking, congestion, noise, and crime. One study showed that short-term rentals caused a 2.2 percent rise in single-family home prices in the D.C. area, with prices in one popular zip code spiking by 12 percent. As the popularity of platforms like Airbnb grows, cities have imposed regulations to limit the impact of short-term rentals on neighborhoods, traffic and parking, and the housing market.
FULL STORY: DCRA Releases Final Short-Term Rental Regulations
Spain Fines Airbnb $75 Million After Crackdown on Unlicensed Rentals
The government took action after residents in tourist centers protested, blaming tourist rentals for a growing housing crisis.
Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.
Barcelona Buys Building to Prevent Tenant Evictions
One apartment building — and its tenants who faced eviction — became a potent symbol of the city’s growing housing crisis.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association