Short-term rental companies will no longer be able to exploit a loophole allowing them to convert clusters of apartments into “executive suites” to skirt a city law that aims to block investors from taking apartments off of the year-round rental market.
The zoning commission on Wednesday closed the loophole in the city’s short-term rental ordinance that let investors convert apartments in 11 city neighborhoods into “executive suites” — which are exempt from the ordinance — without any public process in an effort to continue operating. Companies must now apply to the zoning board of appeals for a variance or special permit to convert any residence in any part of the city.
“I’m somewhat at ease — the city is so expensive as it is. Hopefully, this buys us some time,” said Alicia Cacho of Dorchester after the zoning commission unanimously passed the amendment. Two buildings near her home have been operating as “de facto hotels,” Cacho said.
Cacho said she has watched investors infiltrate her Upham’s Corner neighborhood over the past decade to buy up tenements and apartment buildings to list on short-term rental apps like Airbnb, which has taken apartments off the market for full-time residents and set off a “domino effect” of rising rents.
The zoning amendment still needs Mayor Martin Walsh’s signature to become law, but he is expected to sign it.
Walsh last year approved a law banning so-called “investor units” and limiting who is allowed to rent out apartments. The city filed the zoning amendment after the Herald reported on an emerging trend of short-term rental companies trying to convert apartments into executive suites so they could continue to market their properties on short-term listing sites like Airbnb.
Of the more than 6,000 short-term rental units that were listed before the city ordinance took effect, only 1,899 had applied to the city for a registration number as of late December, with 815 of those approved and 822 denied, according to city officials.
Several short-term rental companies — including California-based Sonder, New Jersey-based Churchill Living and Global Luxury — have continued operating short-term rentals in the city illegally, racking up major fines. The companies are seeking to convert the properties into executive suites, officials said.
A spokesman for Sonder told the Herald the company “intends to honor the process” as it continues to seek conversion.
“The city’s been working very hard to increase the supply of housing because we need a larger vacancy rate and we need additional supply if we’re going to continue to make progress on rents and sales prices,” Housing Chief Sheila Dillon said after Wednesday’s hearing.
Housing advocates called the adoption of the amendment a “victory” on Wednesday but worry companies will find new loopholes.
“It’s whack-a-mole — they’re going to pop up with something different and we’re going to handle that too,” said Ford Cavallari of the Alliance of Downtown Civic Organizations.
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January 09, 2020 at 06:14AM
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Boston slams shut loophole in short-term rental ordinance - Boston Herald
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