A recent report confirms what everyone knows: Landlords are renting out units to tourists on Airbnb instead of to long-term tenants. The report estimates that between 925 and 1,960 units have been removed from the rental market and are not listed as vacation rentals on Airbnb. Up to 23% of all rental listings in SF are for Airbnb rentals.
This is one of the many reasons it is so hard to for tenants to find housing in San Francisco.
Unfortunately, landlords know they can make huge profits if they can remove their long-term tenants and enter the Airbnb market. The Board of Supervisors is considering amending the Airbnb legislation. They are also considering strengthening eviction protections. The Board should combine these two initiatives and prohibit landlords from renting a unit on Airbnb if there has been an eviction in that unit in last five years.