Ordinance:
On October 27th, 2014, Mayor Lee signed San Francisco Ordinance No. 218-14, amending the Administrative and Planning Codes to allow some residential properties to conduct short-term residential rentals without violating the requirements of the City’s Residential Unit Conversion and Demolition Ordinance (Administrative Code Chapter 41A) or the Planning Code. A short-term residential rental is a rental of all or a portion of your residential unit for periods of less than 30 nights. This law became effective on February 1st, 2015, allowing eligible Permanent Residents (owners and tenants) to apply to place their residential unit on the Office of Short-Term Rental’s Short-Term Residential Rental Registry. The short-term rental legislation requires that hosts submit quarterly reports of all of the stays within their units for the last three months.
On June 7, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved legislation in a 10-0 vote that will require short-term rental websites to only post rental listings by residents registered with the city, or face daily fines of up to $1,000. To ensure the law is followed, the legislation requires the city’s Office of Short-Term Rentals to provide quarterly reports on its implementation. The new law also requires short-term rental websites to post registration numbers on listings or email the number and name of the host to the Office of Short-Term Rentals.
On June 27, Airbnb filed a lawsuit against the City of San Francisco seeking an injunction to prevent San Francisco’s recently passed short-term rental provisions from taking place. Airbnb is suing over claims the city’s rental restrictions violate protections for internet companies and its free-speech rights.
On September 6, Airbnb and HomeAway asked U.S. District Judge James Donato for a preliminary injunction barring the city and county of San Francisco from enforcing the ordinance that imposes criminal and civil liability on hosting platforms for unregistered short-term rentals listings and that requires them to verify that a rental is lawfully registered at the time it is rented. They are asking the court to issue an injunction preventing the city from enforcing its ordinance as well as fees, costs and other unspecified damages.
Lawsuit:
06/27/2016: Airbnb Inc. v. City and County of San Francisco (Complaint)
Reports:
06/02/2016: Government Audit and Oversight Committee Report (City and County of San Francisco)
04/25/2016: Land Use and Transportation Committee – Office of Short-Term Rentals (City and County of San Francisco)
04/07/2016: Short-Term Rentals 2016 Update (City and County of San Francisco)
01/11/2016: Program Overview – Office of Short-Term Rentals (City and County of San Francisco)
05/13/2015: Analysis of the impact of short-term rentals on housing (City and County of San Francisco)
05/06/2015: Proposition F – Ordinance Amending the Administrative Code with Respect to Short-Term Residential Rentals (City and County of San Francisco)
04/16/2015: Amendments Relating to Short-Term Rentals (City and County of San Francisco)
10/07/2014: San Francisco Ordinance No. 218-14 – Short-Term Rentals (City and County of San Francisco)
07/31/2014: Amendments Relating to Short-Term Rentals (City and County of San Francisco)
News:
11/17/2016: Judge scolds SF, Airbnb while staying fines in short-term rental case (San Francisco Chronicle)
11/15/2016: SF deals major blow to Airbnb with tough short-term rental law (San Francisco Chronicle)
11/14/2016: Airbnb, under the gun, is ready to cooperate with SF (San Francisco Chronicle)
11/11/2016: HomeAway may have to tell SF all about its hosts, judge says (San Francisco Chronicle)
11/11/2016: Airbnb, SF continue to thrash out vacation-rental enforcement (San Francisco Chronicle)
11/08/2016: Airbnb’s ‘Don’t Punish Us’ for Scofflaws Fails Court Test (Bloomberg)
11/08/2016: Judge won’t immediately block San Francisco Airbnb law (Associated Press)
11/04/2016: Is SF still the right fit for Airbnb? (San Francisco Chronicle)
10/26/2016: Airbnb to limit San Francisco hosts to 1 listing (KRON)
10/20/2016: Tighter rules for Airbnb (San Francisco Chronicle)
10/19/2016: Airbnb bans hosts with multiple listings in SF (San Francisco Chronicle)
10/13/2016: SF supervisors propose 60-day cap on all Airbnb rentals (San Francisco Chronicle)
10/11/2016: Here’s How Airbnb Says It’s Curbing Illegal Hotels in San Francisco (Fortune)
10/06/2016: Airbnb on defensive at court hearing over SF law (San Francisco Chronicle)
10/06/2016: Airbnb’s San Francisco Showdown May Set Rules on Gig Economy (Bloomberg)
10/05/2016: Airbnb is fighting San Francisco with political tactics and trumpeting polls that show how popular it is (Business Insider)
09/30/2016: Airbnb hurts hotels, trade group and union say (San Francisco Chronicle)
09/18/2016: Airbnb fights unfriendly regulations with wave of lawsuits against San Francisco, other cities (San Jose Mercury News)
09/14/2016: ‘Dear Airbnb’ ads chide vacation-rental company (San Francisco Chronicle)
09/14/2016: Airbnb preps ad blitz as SF hikes host fees 400 percent (San Francisco Chronicle)
09/07/2016: Airbnb Seeks To Stop San Francisco Registration Law (Law360)
07/21/2016: Airbnb ‘furniture tax’ generates $120,000 for San Francisco (San Francisco Chronicle)
07/12/2016: SF may revise vacation-rental law to block Airbnb lawsuit (San Francisco Chronicle)
07/12/2016: San Francisco Law Targetting “Illegal Rentals” Officially on Hold as City Battles Airbnb Lawsuit (NBC Bay Area)
07/04/2016: Airbnb takes its fight to court (The Hill)
06/30/2016: Airbnb’s self-defeating fight with the city (San Francisco Chronicle)
06/27/2016: Airbnb sues to block new SF law (San Francisco Chronicle)
06/27/2016: Airbnb Sues Hometown San Francisco to Block Rental Rules (Bloomberg)
06/22/2016: SF to HomeAway: Play ball with the tax collector — or else (San Francisco Chronicle)
06/16/2016: Airbnb launches campaign to ease registration requirements for SF hosts (TechCrunch)
06/13/2016: San Francisco faces stiff legal resistance in efforts to regulate Airbnb (San Francisco Business Times)
06/08/2016: San Francisco to Airbnb: Enforce the rules or pay the price (Christian Science Monitor)
06/07/2016: SF supes crack down on unregistered short-term rentals (San Francisco Chronicle)
06/02/2016: San Francisco Lawmakers Could Soon Force Airbnb, Other Home-Sharing Websites to Make Major Changes (NBC Bay Area)
05/23/2016: Illegal Short-Term Rentals Can be Nightmare for Neighbors (NBC Bay Area)
05/23/2016: Airbnb Still Refusing to Help S.F. Enforce Airbnb Regulations (SF Weekly)
05/04/2016: Airbnb’s Political Buyout (SF Weekly)
04/30/2016: Airbnb spends $230,000 on S.F. candidates and propositions on June 7 ballot (San Francisco Chronicle)
04/29/2016: Airbnb just spent over $200,000 on San Francisco politics (Re/Code)
04/26/2016: New Legislation Would Fine Airbnb for Listing Unregistered Properties in San Francisco (NBC Bay Area)
04/25/2016: Airbnb, HomeAway would police rentals under proposed SF law (San Francisco Chronicle)
04/08/2016: Most San Francisco Airbnb Hosts Shirk Regulations, Report Finds (Fortune)
04/07/2016: Most Airbnb hosts flout SF laws, city report says (San Francisco Chronicle)
04/02/2016: Airbnb to purge illegal hotels from San Francisco listings (San Francisco Chronicle)
01/07/2016: City implores Airbnb, other firms, to deactivate illegal listings (San Francisco Chronicle)
01/07/2016: San Francisco to Airbnb: Please Help Us Fight Illegal Hotels (Fortune)
11/30/2015: Airbnb, other short-term rentals may get closer scrutiny in S.F. (San Francisco Chronicle)
11/04/2015: Airbnb wins the vote in San Francisco, but city’s housing debate rages on (Los Angeles Times)
11/04/2015: Prop. F: S.F. voters reject measure to restrict Airbnb rentals (San Francisco Chronicle)
10/22/2015: Airbnb apologizes for snarky San Francisco ads (USA Today)
10/22/2015: Airbnb Ads Flop in San Francisco (New York Times)
10/19/2015: Dianne Feinstein steps up her war against Airbnb (Los Angeles Times)
10/13/2015: Could San Francisco’s short-term rental law backfire on the hotel workers who support it? (San Francisco Business Times)
10/02/2015: Chronicle recommends: No on Prop. F (San Francisco Chronicle)
10/01/2015: Debate Over Airbnb Rages in San Francisco Ahead of November Vote (Time)
09/30/2015: S.F. Voters to Decide on Airbnb Rentals, Mission Moratorium and Other Housing Measures (KQED)
09/30/2015: Airbnb hosts’ hotel-tax obligations streamlined in S.F. (San Francisco Chronicle)
09/26/2015: Airbnb spending more than $8 million to fight new rental rules (San Francisco Chronicle)
08/31/2015: Would SF Prop. F spur Airbnb suits, with neighbor suing neighbor? (San Francisco Chronicle)
08/01/2015: Airbnb Pushes to Modify San Francisco Housing Laws (New York Times)
07/02/2015: S.F. to create city office to enforce Airbnb law (San Francisco Chronicle)
04/23/2015: San Francisco Moves to Tighten Airbnb Law (KQED)
02/03/2015: S.F. Airbnb law slowly takes effect while challenges continue (San Francisco Chronicle)
11/03/2014: An Airbnb Rival Challenges San Francisco’s Airbnb Law (Bloomberg)
10/28/2014: San Francisco mayor signs landmark law making Airbnb legal (San Francisco Chronicle)
10/08/2014: Supes back ‘Airbnb law’ to allow short-term rentals, with limits (San Francisco Chronicle)
10/08/2014: Sharing economy: San Francisco becomes first major US city to legalize Airbnb (The Christian Science Monitor)
10/08/2014: Airbnb Gets Off Easy in San Francisco. Hosts? Not So Much (Bloomberg)
09/13/2014: What’s at stake in San Francisco’s fight over how to legalize Airbnb (Washington Post)
08/08/2014: S.F. Planners Back Chiu’s ‘Airbnb’ Proposal But Make It Tougher (KQED)
06/16/2014: Is Airbnb putting a squeeze on San Francisco rentals? (CBS News)
04/07/2014: S.F. cracks down on Airbnb rentals (San Francisco Chronicle)
Resources: