Raleigh Might Ban Whole-House Rentals, Create a Bunch of Other Airbnb Regulations

In order to meet the regulations the Raleigh City Council is contemplating for short-term rentals like Airbnb, you couldn’t rent out your whole house, would need to be present at the dwelling during the rental period, could not have cooking facilities inside the maximum of two rooms for rent, have no more than four adults (including yourself and your family) in the home at any given time, and be a few hundred feet away from another rental.

Of the more than three hundred Airbnb rentals listed in the city, it’s unclear how many, if any, would meet these requirements. 

The city council’s Healthy Neighborhoods Committee met to discuss regulations recommended for “homestays,” or short-term rentals, Tuesday afternoon; it heard both from residents urging looser restrictions on the rentals and a handful of people with horror stories about their quiet residential neighborhoods turning into nightly frat parties because of a bad host.

Here are some of the rules the council is considering:

No action was taken, and the council is expected to continue vetting what to do about Airbnbs into next year.

That will mean discussions about Airbnb will enter year five. 

Residents in favor of short-term rentals took issue with the proposed ban on whole-house rentals, which appeal to larger families who can’t afford or don’t wish to pay for multiple hotel rooms. Some said they rent their homes on Airbnb to help offset housing costs; others said they use Airbnb or similar services for work travel.

Since 2013, Raleigh has received thirty-seven complaints regarding Airbnb, according to assistant planning director Travis Crane, thirteen of which were deemed unsubstantiated.

Airbnb host Gregg Stebbens has rented his home more than four hundred times without an issue.

“You are solving a problem that’s s not a problem,” Stebbens told the council. “You are making rules about something that is not a problem. Let’s have regulations that address the common sense stuff and leave it open to address other issues as they arrive. Why are we solving a problem that’s not even there?”

Not everyone agreed. Resident Corey Kaminsky said her quiet home on Pine Tree Court has been disrupted by a constant flow of Airbnb renters next door. The home has hosted a full soccer team and wedding party that slammed doors and made noise late into the night.

“You never know who is going to be there when you open your front door, and it’s definitely not why we invested in our neighborhood and why we wanted to be there,” Kaminsky said.