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Airbnb is fighting in Washington to get legal cover for its business of helping people rent out their homes,apartments, and couches to strangers. But it's also facing a struggle in its hometown of San Francisco , despite backing from Mayor Ed Lee, and the president of the Boardof Supervisors, David Chiu, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. There, the issue is the way Airbnb rentals have takenlong-term rentals off an already tight market. The law is pretty clear. According to Chapter 41a of San Francisco's AdministrativeCode—which we actually read—renting an apartment orhome for less than 30 days is straight-up illegal in San Francisco unless you get a bed-and-breakfast permit or jump through otherarduous bureaucratic hoops. Violators may face a fine of up to$1,000 or six months in jail. (By the way, if you're a renter, subletting your place will likelyviolate your lease and can get you evicted. and the law is silent,as far as we can tell, about the notion of renting a room or acouch in a private residence.) San Francisco's Board of Supervisors is considering changing thelaw. Lee and Chiu are pushing the buzzword of "collaborativeconsumption" to cover notions like Airbnb rentals and services like Getaround , which lets you rent out your car. The problem for Airbnb is that it's basically relying on Mayor Leeand Supervisor Chiu's clout to push through changes. (Airbnbinvestor Ron Conway was a major backer of Lee's election campaign .) But the city's political environment is extremely fragmented anddriven by interest groups like the San Francisco Tenants Union andthe Telegraph Hill Dwellers which—no surprise—hate theidea of Airbnb. If Airbnb has any hopes of getting a legal change through, it'sgoing to have to arduously court those groups—not just themayor and supervisors. In the meantime, though? Airbnb rentals are going to keep happeningunder the radar. They're too hard to police, and one thing Lee andChiu can do is rein in any attempts to enforce the law. It reminds us of PayPal's strategy back in the day. The paymentsstartup just started moving money around without all of themoney-transfer agent licenses it needed. It eventually got incompliance with the law, which was a bureaucratic, state-by-statenightmare. If it had waited around to get those licenses first, anotherstartup might have beaten it to the market. But it's not likePayPal was in that much danger. Any attempt to shut it down wouldhave faced a chorus of complaints from eBay sellers who'd alreadycome to depend on the service. The political challenge for Airbnb is that hosts may be reluctantto speak up in its defense—since that would call attention totheir own violations. Meanwhile, its critics have already proventhemselves to be noisy. The law is a fool: Don't miss these 15 incredible apartments youcan rent on Airbnb. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as China Epoxy Magnets , China Magnetic Kids Toys, and more. For more , please visit Picture Fridge Magnet today!
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