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Airbnb is on a mission to help renters earn a little extra income, and maybe even a little income of their own.
company announced On Friday, it plans to help renters list their rental homes on its platform. Airbnb plans to work with city and state governments to “advocate for short-term rental regulations that allow renters to share their homes.”
Despite talk of Airbnb hosts making millions of dollars by renting out their properties, Airbnb claims that more than 40% of U.S. homeowners who rent their properties on the platform He said he only uses the extra money to stay at home. About 10% said the money helped them avoid eviction or foreclosure.
So, as rents soar across the country, Airbnb said its new initiative could also help renters “stay in their homes.”
According to one study, a record 22.4 million renter households will be cost-burdened by 2022, spending more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities. A report from the Harvard University Center for Joint Housing Research, Cited by Airbnb. The report also found that a “record high” of 12.1 million renter households were burdened with high costs, spending more than half of their income on housing. As a result, those with the lowest incomes spent 39% less on food and 42% less on medical care than those with no burden.
One obstacle to Airbnb’s rental business is that “many early laws limited short-term rentals to homeowners,” said Teo Yedin, Airbnb’s vice president of public policy. Mr. Ski says. told CNN.
In recent years, towns and cities across North America have begun cracking down on short-term rentals, requiring licenses and, in some cases, requiring short-term rental owners to live in the property as their primary residence.
one promising sign — At least when it comes to Airbnb — That’s because Virginia signed a law earlier this week that requires local governments that issue short-term rental permits to property owners to issue the same permits to tenants with the property owner’s permission. . Cities like Raleigh, San Diego and Tulsa have also passed “renter-friendly” policies, according to Airbnb.
“Homeownership should not be a barrier to entry when sharing a home,” Mike Signer, Airbnb’s director of North American policy, said in the company’s announcement. “The vast majority of hosts in the U.S. share space to cover the rising cost of living. We want to partner with cities to develop smart short-term rental policies that give renters a similar opportunity. That’s what I think.
Airbnb did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.