The Anchorage Council voted Tuesday to require short-term rental platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo to provide the city with data about Anchorage’s growing vacation rental market.
The ordinance, approved by members on an 11-1 vote, requires platforms to provide several types of data, including a list of all units rented, type of unit, and total number of operators.
The measure differs slightly from the initial version members proposed earlier this month. The version approved Tuesday calls for more specific information, such as location information for rentals listed in property listings. Additionally, the number of operators must be aggregated by month.
“Having a monthly breakdown would allow us to look more closely at seasonal fluctuations,” said member Anna Brawley.
The rental platform pays the city room tax on behalf of the operator. Additional information will now be required when filing taxes. According to the ordinance passed Tuesday, statistical information derived from supplemental data will be made public.
This measure does not impose any requirements or restrictions on short-term rental operators.
Many city leaders say Anchorage is facing a housing crisis with few rental properties and rising rents and home prices. The ordinance’s sponsors, Council Vice President Meg Zaletel and Councilors Randy Salto and Daniel Folland, said the ordinance would help the city understand how short-term rentals are impacting the housing market. He said it would help him understand it more deeply.
“My hope is that once this information is collected, policy considerations around the impact of short-term rentals and the criteria for considering whether the impact is municipal-wide or concentrated in a particular municipality will be developed. “From there we can derive targeted policy solutions,” Zaretel said.
State economists and housing experts say the surge in short-term rentals is a likely factor in the city’s housing crunch.
Last year, hosting platforms paid $6.5 million in Anchorage lodging taxes, an increase of about 20% from the previous year. This is approximately 15% of the total lodging tax and is paid by hotels, motels, lodges, and traditional B&Bs as well.
An Air DNA representative said last week that short-term rental properties in Anchorage have nearly doubled in the past five years. The company analyzes the short-term rental market. According to a representative, there were an average of 4,628 listings in the 12 months ending in July.
Earlier this year, Congress passed a proposal that would create a licensing program for short-term rentals while adding costs and penalties to property owners. Former Mayor Dave Bronson vetoed the bill, but the council did not act to override his veto.
“This is an attempt to go back and get information and data,” Zaretel said of Tuesday’s ordinance.
Airbnb acknowledged the email from the Daily News but did not respond to questions Tuesday. Vrbo did not respond to emailed questions.
Several cities in the United States and other countries have enacted laws to try to curb the proliferation of short-term rentals. Some have added rules that limit the number of units a person or business can own and rent for short-term use. Others are setting rules on the total number of vacation rentals allowed in a region, introducing new taxes, or banning them altogether.
Assemblyman Scott Myers voted against the bill on Tuesday.
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