Balanced proposal will enable homeowners to earn supplemental income while ending de-facto corporate hotels
City Councilors Lydia Edwards and Michelle Wu are backing a revised ordinance filed today by the Walsh administration to regulate the short-term rental industry.
“I fully support the city’s efforts to regulate short-term rentals while providing an opportunity for homeowners to earn supplemental income,” said City Councilor Lydia Edwards, Chair of the Council’s Committee on Housing and Community Development. “This legislation will prevent speculative activity that has taken rental units off the market, displaced tenants and hindered the city’s efforts to provide stability for all of Boston’s residents.”
“This ordinance offers reasonable regulations of short-term rentals to close corporate loopholes, protect our housing stock, and stabilize neighborhoods,” said City Councilor Michelle Wu. “I’m proud to support this legislation as the Mayor and City Council work together to stem Boston’s housing crisis.”
The legislation creates a framework for homeowners to earn supplemental income by listing a bedroom in their unit year-round, the entire unit in which they reside, or a single adjacent unit in their owner-occupied, two-family or three-family home. Investor units, which have plagued neighborhoods like the North End, Chinatown and East Boston, would be prohibited under the legislation.
The Boston City Council has been working in partnership with the Walsh administration and state officials to regulate the short-term rental industry. In March, Councilors Wu and Edwards offered revisions to an initial proposal by the Walsh administration, many of which are reflected in the new ordinance.
Source: Joel Wool, Director of Policy and Communications, Boston City Councilor Lydia Edwards
