The internet makes renting out you home or apartment easier and more profitable than ever. Entrepreneurs are jumping on this trend. Some see it as more profitable than renting on a long term lease. Others see it as a way to keep a property in a place where they lived formerly, without letting it be vacant. Still others see it as an alternative to a timeshare or a way to make owning a vacation home in a trendy area affordable.
This boom in vacation rentals is bringing out the busybodies and government meddlers of all types. Various local governments are coming up with creative ways to either ban rentals or raise revenue.
Maryville, Tennessee has banned rentals in all areas zoned residential.
San Bernadino County is debating if people can let other people park RVs on their property.
Newton, Massachusetts wants to regulate whether people can rent rooms in their homes.
Denver makes it a felony to temporarily rent out a home that you cannot prove is your "primary residence."
Portland is pressing companies like Airbnb and HomeAway to share data on its users in order to collect extra lodging taxes.
In a surprise move, the State of New Jersey repealed a special short term rental tax under pressure from the NJ Shore Rental Coalition.
As with all private property rights, government should stay out of it except for clear public health and safety issues. Most of these laws are driven by lobbying from either the Real Estate or Hospitality industries. It is another case of where one industry yells foul because government overreach in their industry causes smart entrepreneurs to come up with a creative alternative. The big losers are the people who can make some extra money from renting out their place and the lodgers who can take a dream vacation on a budget.
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