Earlier this year Georgia State Rep. Matt Dollar introduced legislation that would forbid local government bans on Airbnb Inc. and other short-term rental businesses in the state.
Restrictions have already been made in Savannah for short-term rentals, which are defined by the city as renting a home for less than 30 days. The regulations state that no more than 20 percent of the homes in the city’s historic district are available for rent at a time. Other cities such as Newnan are also considering regulations for Airbnb and short-term rental businesses. This legislation would repeal the laws Savannah and other cities have in place.
Rep. Dollar is planning to draft a bill before the upcoming legislative session that implements an environment of certainty for homeowners, property owners and the communities of Georgia. “It takes new ideas to address new technologies,” Dollar told InsiderAdvantage in regard to the proposed legislation. He is hoping to find a balance between personal property rights and nationally-owned, short term rental businesses in order to maintain the authenticity of local communities.
Property owners may decide that it’s more profitable to keep their properties permanently listed as short-term rentals, but it can reduce the amount of housing available for renters and buyers. Reduced supply creates higher prices and, can potentially cause everyone in a town to pay more to rent and buy housing.
Since there is no regulation, there is also no procedure for those offering short-term rentals to pay taxes or fees that other providers in the hospitality industry pay.
First readers summarizes House Bill 579 saying it is a bill to be entitled an act to amend Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to local government, so as to provide that local governments cannot ban or regulate short-term and vacation rentals. Airbnb is an online lodging service modeled in a like manner to the online ride-sharing apps Uber or Lyft. It terms itself a “hospitality service,” that allows people to lease or rent short-term lodging from vacation rentals to hotel rooms. Airbnb does not own any of the places it rents, just as Uber does not own any of the cars. It operates in the same way as a dating app that receives commissions from both guests and hosts in conjunction with every booking.
A hearing Monday on the bill and Georgia Hotel and Lodging Association Executive Director Jim Sprouse told Dollar it would be unfair if businesses such as Airbnb go unregulated, according to the AJC.
