Limit Short-Term Rentals to Improve Affordable Housing, Argues Philadelphia Fed CEO
Photo Credit: A Federal Reserve official called for increased regulation of short-term rentals. Pictured is an ad for Airbnb on Layfayette Street in New York City. Skift
Skift Take
Those who scoff at the linkage between the rise of short-term rentals and the affordable housing crisis are denying the obvious, although the dynamics are complex.
A U.S. Federal Reserve regional bank CEO cited the role of short-term rentals in escalating housing prices, and challenged municipalities in popular tourism areas to further regulate short-term rentals so workers can find local housing.
The recent essay by Federal Reserve Bank Philadelphia President and CEO Patrick Harker may provide further intellectual rationale for affordable housing advocates to pressure local authorities to adopt tighter regulation of Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, and a bevy of other local short-term rental booking sites.
"Areas dominated by tourism like the Jersey Shore [in New Jersey] are starved of housing for workers," Harker wrote last month. "Incentivizing workforce housing could begin to ease these supply shortages. And in those same tourist-heavy regions, local governments could look to limit the number of short-term rentals to ensure that local residents have places to live."
Affordable housing advocates and municipal offic
