The Guardian – Airbnb is driving up the rent in your urban neighborhood

October 17, 2016
Elizabeth Warren has long been calling for a federal probe into the short-term property rental industry – a shot aimed square at the upside-down-heart logo of Airbnb. This Tyrannosaurus Disruptus is swinging a $30bn tail through rental markets from Venice, California, to Venice, Italy. Now, people are starting to pay attention. Warren’s call has been taken up by officials and civic leaders from a dozen US cities, who wrote a letter saying they want the Federal Trade Commission to take up the charge. It’s about time. “Cities are struggling to address urgent shortages of affordable housing,” the letter said, “and there is evidence that commercial interests in the [short-term rental] industry are removing residential units from housing markets and thereby contributing to even higher rents.”…
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/oct/17/airbnb-rent-unaffordable-elizabeth-warren-neighborhoods