A communication from Councillor Craig Kelley, regarding Short-Term Rentals in Cambridge: An Overview of Current Usage …

The near ubiquitous permeation of services such as Uber, Lyft, and Airbnb into the daily lives and routines of Cambridge residents makes such a review all but unnecessary, and it is omitted here. As the more than 600 unique Airbnb listings in Cambridge attest, the City is already integrated into the new shared economy of short-term rentals, yet some regulations and standards for such dwellings dat es to the 1990s.

That gap has opened niche entrepreneurial opportunities for some residents, and raised concern for others that the safety, afford ability, and character of their neighborhoods is at risk. Plodding into the middle of that tension are faceless commercial users that convert hundreds of apartment units and even whole buildings into short-term rental units at the exclusion of potential residents.

To address these and still other concerns, numerous local and state authorities are implementing regulations, sometimes with the support of Airbnb, to create a shared economy that is fair to both entrepreneurs and residents, and guarant ees the safety of users. 1

CITY HALL, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 02139

(61 7) 349-4280 FAX (61 7) 349-4287 TTY/TDD: (61 7) 349-4242 EMAIL: ckelley@cambridgema.gov Cambridge is in the midst of a housing crisis, particularly for working-class families. The very nature of the Cambridge housing market means that several truisms of the sharing economy are upending by commercial users, or those operators with more than two unique short-term rental apartments.

Traditionally, the sharing economy allows individuals to make better use of under- utilized spaces, but in Cambridge the effect is not to increase utility, but often to convert long-term tenancy space to short-term transient accommodations. More and more frequently, these transactions are not peer-to-peer based as the sharing economy promotes, but rather commercial user-to-transient renter transactions. For a growing number of commercially listed units, the notion of a shared economy is corrupted.

Such spaces are not being shared by Cambridge residents with visitors of the City, but just the opposite-access is denied to current and potential Cambridge residents who might otherwise occupy such apartments. In such cases, short-term rental usage is neither peer-to-peer based, nor truly exists for the "shared economy." For the majority of short-term operators in Cambridge, however, the goal is not to make a profit, but to make ends meet.

According to an Economic Impact statement released by Airbnb, the average host earned "$8,020, renting out her home about 68 nights per year." 1 This extra income helps some operators afford the inflated Cambridge housing market and offsets the high cost of living in the Boston Metropolitan Area.

Lacking uniform regulation and guidance, some individuals operate extra-legally in neighborhoods that are not zoned to permit transient accommodations, and may neglect to provide such basic safety precautions as emergency exit plans that are common in other lodging houses. It is unclear whether Cambridge could even inspect a properly run Airbnb unit through its lnspectional Services Department to ensure compliance with all other safety and sanitary regulations.

Such individuals should not be left in limbo, particularly when it is really the wellbeing of tourists, professionals, and students that regularly visit Cambridge that is being wagered. 1 "Economic Impacts in Boston," Airbnb.com (December 18, 2014) http://blog.airbnb.com/economic-impacts- boston/. (Such estimates gloss over the boom and bust distribution of rental units and bookings which cluster around popular locations, and the figures have surely risen since 2013-2014 when the study was conducted.) 2

Short~ Term Rental Use in Cambridge and Boston Metropolitan Area