WASHINGTON -- A second vote on a proposed bill to put regulations on short-term rentals, such as Airbnb, in the District was postponed by D.C. City Council on Tuesday.
Councilmember Grosso, among other Councilmembers, called for a delay to the vote. Grosso said more time should be allocated to understand and discuss the bill.
On Monday, Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey S. DeWitt sent a letter to Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, writing that the bill would cost the District millions, concluding, “Funds are not sufficient in the fiscal year 2019 through fiscal year 2022 budget and financial plan to implement the bill. The bill will cost $21.7 million in fiscal year 2019 and $104.1 million over the four-year financial plan.”
DeWitt argued that the regulations would effectively eliminate all current short-term rentals.
The bill would introduce licenses that would allow hosts to either rent out rooms at their primary residences for an unlimited amount of days. However, the host must be on the premises at the time. There’s no limit on how many rooms you can rent.
The license would also allow hosts to rent out short-term rentals in homes that are not their primary residences for up to 90 days per year. The host would not have to be there.
Mendelson said that he believes there needs to be regulations for short-term rentals and this bill would clarify those rentals.
Another proponent of the bill, Councilmember Kenyan Duffie, wrote on his website that the bill isn’t a ban on short-term rentals, but “updates District law to create a new ‘short-term rental’ business license.”
Since the bill’s introduction, Airbnb was issued statements against it, including one letter to Chairman Mendelson that alleged, via their own financial analysis, that the bill would jeopardize supplemental income for women, people of color, and families in the District.
The vote has been postponed to November 13.
