Hotel industry and short-term rental hosts clash on caps at city hearing on new regulations.
The Baltimore City Council held a hearing Thursday on a bill that would regulate and tax short-term rentals such as Airbnb.
As reported by The Baltimore Sun:
The nearly 1,300 hosts renting out 2,105 units in Baltimore that generated $11.3 million last year in revenue [sic] not subject to the same taxes applied to hotels — which brought in roughly $30.5 million in taxes in fiscal year 2017.
The bill, introduced by Councilman Eric Costello and Council President Bernard C. “Jack” Young, would levy Baltimore’s 9.5 percent hotel tax on short-term rentals, as well as introduce licensing requirements for these properties.
According to the article, the most contentious provisions of the bill involve caps on the number of properties and days hosts can rent out. Under the bill as introduced short-term rentals would generate between $587,000 and $1 million in hotel tax revenues annually. Under amendments to the most contentious provisions they would generate between $1.6 million and $2.2 million under the proposed amendments. The city council will hold another hearing, with hopes of generating a compromise, before moving forward with the bill.
Baltimore City is not alone in trying to address these issues. Montgomery County passed legislation that went into effect July 1, 2018 to regulate short-term rentals. Additionally, MACo supported statewide legislation during the 2018 general session that would have required short-term rental platforms and their hosts to be registered with the Comptroller. The legislation did not pass.
For more information read the full article in The Baltimore Sun.
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