- Airbnb plans to help renters list their homes to earn extra income.
- The company says it could help mitigate the impact of soaring rental rates.
- Airbnb’s new effort comes as some cities are adopting “renter-friendly” policies.
Airbnb is on a mission to help renters earn a little extra income – and probably keep some for themselves, too.
The company announced plans Friday to help tenants list their rental homes on its platform. Airbnb plans to work with city and state governments to “advocate for short-term rental rules that allow renters to share their homes.”
Despite stories of Airbnb hosts making millions in profit by renting out their properties, Airbnb said that more than 40% of owners in the United States who rent out properties on the platform have used the extra money simply to stay in their homes. accommodation. About 10% said the money helped them avoid eviction or foreclosure.
So as rental rates skyrocket across the country, Airbnb said its new initiative could also help renters “stay at home.”
In 2022, a record 22.4 million renter households faced high costs, meaning they spent more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities, according to a report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies from Harvard, cited by Airbnb. The report also notes an “all-time high”: 12.1 million renter households are experiencing heavy financial burdens, meaning they are spending more than half of their income on housing costs. As a result, those with the lowest incomes spent 39% less on food and 42% less on healthcare than their “discharged” counterparts.
One of the obstacles to Airbnb’s renters’ initiative is that “many of the early laws that were passed limited short-term rentals to homeownership,” Theo Yedinsky, vice-president, told CNN. president of public policy at Airbnb.
More recently, cities and towns across North America have begun cracking down on short-term rentals, requiring permits and, in some cases, requiring short-term rental owners to inhabit the property as their primary residence.
A promising sign — for Airbnb, at least — is that Virginia signed a law earlier this week that requires localities that issue short-term rental permits to landlords to issue the same permit to tenants — provided they have permission from the landlord. Cities like Raleigh, San Diego and Tulsa have also adopted “renter-friendly” policies, Airbnb said.
“Homeownership should not be a barrier to entry when it comes to sharing your home,” Mike Signer, Airbnb’s policy director for North America, said in the release. the society. “The vast majority of hosts in the United States are sharing their space to help cope with the rising cost of living, and we want to partner with cities to develop sensible short-term rental policies that provide tenants with opportunity to do the same.”
Airbnb did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
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