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US: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s city council advanced bills that would implement regulations for short-term rentals, including licenses and zoning restrictions. The council moved to vote on one bill and send another to the city’s planning commission for report and recommendation.
The new regulations call for all short-term rentals to obtain a license to operate a unit and have zoning officials approve new rentals in residential districts if not attached to the owner’s home. Property managers must also have an individual responsible for the property within 25 miles.
Council member Deb Gross said that Pittsburgh does not have short-term rental law on the books and that it was high time for some to be passed.
The license bill will not be voted on for 12 weeks, roughly coinciding with when response from the zoning authority is expected — and after the NFL Draft taking place in Pittsburgh in late April.
Helping to put the bill to floor were concerns around parties in short-term units, particularly a New Years shooting which left a resident of Pittsburgh’s North Side neighborhood injured. In 2022, an Easter shooting left two dead and eight injured. Both incidents resulted from parties hosted at Airbnbs.
Residents attending the meeting expressed their support for the bill, saying that short-term rentals have caused disruption and displacement in the city.
While renters’ associations pushed back, the bills are expected to be voted into law.
Also included in the legislation are regulations on the number of beds in a unit and maximum occupancy, requirements for a daily guest register and age restrictions on renting. Parties, already proscribed by Airbnb, would be banned.
Extant properties would not be subject to zoning approval, but would need to obtain a license.
Highlights:
Pittsburgh City Council has advanced two bills that would implement short-term rental regulations including mandatory licenses, zoning restrictions for investor-owned units, and a requirement that a responsible party be located within 25 miles of each property.
The legislation responds to resident concerns about neighborhood disruption and housing displacement, as well as specific incidents including a 2022 Easter shooting and a New Year’s Eve shooting that resulted from parties at Airbnb-rented properties.
Existing short-term rentals would be exempt from zoning approval but must obtain licenses, while new investor-owned units in residential districts would require zoning official approval.
The license bill vote is scheduled for approximately 12 weeks from now, timed to allow zoning commission comment and following the NFL Draft taking place in Pittsburgh in late April.
Additional provisions include bed and occupancy limits, a daily guest register requirement, age restrictions on renters and a ban on parties, which is already prohibited by Airbnb’s platform policy.