The San Francisco Tenants Union is part of the SharebetterSF coalition which continues to advocate for sensible regulation of short-term rentals in San Francisco. SharebetterSF worked to pass significant legislation to regulate short-term rentals and hold hosting platforms accountable earlier in 2017 with a new Board of Supervisors. The legislation is currently being challenged by Airbnb.com who sued the city rather than abide by commonsense self-monitoring of its website to eliminate illegal rentals. This shows us how lucrative and determined hosting websites are to keep its unsanctioned listings unenforceable.

Why We Need to Regulate Vacation Rentals and Why SharebetterSF was Formed

San Francisco is in the midst of its worst housing crisis in the last 50 years but when it came time to regulate short-term Airbnb rentals, City Hall let us down. It allowed corporate lobbyists and insiders to write a law allowing unlimited conversion of affordable housing into tourist hotels.

Every independent study to date has concluded that the current law is unenforceable and won’t work. Right now, 94% of Airbnb’s 8,500 listings for San Francisco are unregistered and illegal and the current law allows them to do it. We deserve better.

Proposition F

In 2015, the SharebetterSF coalition drafted the Yes on F ballot measure in 2015 which failed to pass largely thanks to the record-breaking $9 million dollars Airbnb spent to defeat it.

Our Yes on Prop F campaign had major funding proudly provided by the hotel and restaurant workers’ union, UNITE HERE, and the San Francisco Apartment Association PAC, and was supported by tenants and landlords, neighborhood associations, affordable housing proponents, and senior and disability advocates. Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org.

Contact ShareBetter SF Today:

For media relations email: carlson@dale-carlson(dot)com or 415-310-8616.