Airbnb will be allowed to operate in Chicago after the city council passed two measures on Wednesday that allow short-term rentals, but there will be a few restrictions on that process.
Under the new rules, there’s a cap on how many listings are allowed in each building, the Chicago Tribune reports: buildings with fewer than five units will be allowed only one unit listed online at a time, while buildings larger than that will be limited to six units or 35% of the total number of units, whichever is less.
If you think you’re suffering “an extraordinary burden” by not being allowed to exceed the limit in smaller buildings, you can try to convince the city Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection to make an exception.
In certain neighborhoods with single-family homes, individuals can also petition the city to either ban new Airbnb listings in the area outright, or allow them only in the “primary residences” of the people listing the properties. That process can be challenged, however, as the new ordinance lets residents within the precinct to get their own signatures on a petition to overturn it.
Airbnb will also have to pay fees to the city, including a $10,000 license the company will have to buy to operate in Chicago, and a 4% tax on each rental that will go toward providing services for homeless people. Each Chicago address listed on the site comes with a $60 charge as well, which the city says it will use to help cover the cost of enforcing the rules.
Airbnb rules easily pass Chicago City Council despite vocal opposition [Chicago Tribune]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
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