Document Type

Working Paper

Publication Date

3-13-2019

SSRN Discipline

Economics Research Network; Legal Scholarship Network; LSN Subject Matter eJournals; ERN Subject Matter eJournals; Financial Economics Network; Management Research Network

Abstract

Shortterm rental accommodations have increased over eighty percent in the last five years The rise of companies like Airbnb have created a booming market that provides affordable shortterm rentals for travelers and new income for those with an extra couch spare room or even unused home However while individual hosts and guests may benefit economically their use produces significant consequences for the surrounding community Airbnb proliferation causes fewer affordable housing options higher average asking rents and erosion of neighborhood social capital Due to discrimination among users on Airbnb's platform many of the benefits of shortterm rental accommodations accrue to white hosts and guests locking communities of color out of potential income and equity streams These issues raise questions at the core of property law which stick in the bundle is implicated by a shortterm rental accommodation Current regulations attempt to walk the line between protecting property rights and mitigating externalities created by that use and borne by the local community In doing so the law fails to adequately address consequences resulting from the vast increase in shortterm rental accommodations This Article assesses the benefits and costs of shorttermrental accommodations and analyzes how current statutory approaches amplify or diminish these effects After examining the legal economic and social interests of multiple shortterm rental accommodations stakeholders including hosts guests the local community and platform operators it argues that current policies are fragmented inconsistently applied and ineffective Instead the law must be reformed to better secure access to affordable housing stock prevent "hotelization" of residential neighborhoods create meaningful opportunities for diverse users to share economic gains and eliminate pathways to discriminate on homesharing platforms like Airbnbbr

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