A new study suggests that short-term rentals are contributing to the region’s housing shortage and helping drive up costs for renter households.
New research from Florida Atlantic University indicates that the growth of the short-term vacation rental industry could be impacting housing affordability in South Florida, a claim often made by critics of the STR model. As Amber Bonefont reports for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, taking apartments off the market to use them as vacation rentals can drive up housing costs for long-term renters.
According to study author Ken H. Johnson, “It’s the shortage of available units that drives rental rates higher. While developers and local governments clearly need to build more units, that’s not the only solution to this problem.”
Similar impacts have been observed elsewhere. “A study published in the Harvard Law and Policy Review looked at the city of Los Angeles and concluded that converting a unit previously used by a resident to an Airbnb removed the unit from the rental market, therefore leading to a ‘real, but likely mild, increase in rents.’”
Vacation rental companies like Airbnb argue that the sharp rise in housing costs is unrelated to their industry, as the share of STRs in U.S. housing stock has stayed roughly the same in the last decade. However, getting an accurate count of vacation rentals is notoriously difficult, making the scale of the problem hard to quantify.
FULL STORY: Vacation rentals are adding to South Florida’s housing crunch, study suggests
D.C. Passes Short-Term Rental Regulations
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.
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Small college towns are seeing housing costs increase as out-of-town football fans buy up properties for short-term use.
San Diego Considers Cutting Short-Term Rentals by Half
In a bid to address concerns about vacation rentals in residential neighborhoods, the San Diego Planning Commission recommends cutting the number of short-term rentals in the city in half.
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Early Sharrow Booster: ‘I Was Wrong’
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Push and Pull: The Link Between Walkability and Affordability
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The irony is unmistakable. Public surveillance cameras, long controversial in the criminal justice community, provided pivotal video footage of the beating of motorist Tyre Nichols by five Memphis police officers at a traffic stop on January 7.
How Autonomous Cars Could Impact Energy Use
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Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
York County Government
York County, Human Resources
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Harvard GSD Executive Education
City of Culver City
Sonoma County Transportation Authority
City of Piedmont, CA
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This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
