Jersey City, NJ, residents will vote on November 5 on Municipal Question 1, a referendum to maintain a city ordinance establishing regulations for short-term rentals. A “yes” vote will keep in place Ordinance 19 077, which requires hosts of short-term rental properties to obtain permits and comply with regulatory requirements by January 2020. Mayor Steve Fulop (D) and Jersey City council members are encouraging residents to vote to approve the referendum to protect Jersey City neighborhoods and prevent gentrification.
Jersey City passed legislation legalizing the use of short-term home-sharing services in 2015. Since then, there has been growing concern that the expansion of Airbnb has limited the city’s housing availability and increased rental prices for long-term residents. In the past three years, the number of Airbnb units in Jersey City has risen by 500%, from 600 in 2016 to 3,000 today. Airbnb’s exponential growth throughout the U.S. has raised questions about its adverse impact on local housing costs, the hospitality industry, local governments’ ability to enforce municipal codes, and the quality of life in residential neighborhoods. Major cities across the country have implemented short-term rental laws, including in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Chicago, Boston, Seattle, Denver, Miami, Miami Beach, and Santa Monica.
If voters decide to keep Ordinace 19 077 on the books, the operation of short-term residential property rentals in Jersey City, such as Airbnb, would require permits that would have be renewed annually. Hosts would have to be city residents who own the short-term rental properties and operate no more than two units at one time. There would be an annual 60-day-rental cap for properties whose owners live off-site. Airbnb hosts and guests would have to comply with Jersey City noise, parking, garbage, and sanitation laws. Hosts could rent out their apartments for longer than 60 days, but they would have to obtain a sublet agreement, not an Airbnb agreement.
Supporters of the ordinance have expressed hope that these common-sense regulations will prevent Airbnb owners from limiting the city’s housing availability and increasing rental prices for long-term residents. “We’re simply looking for reasonable regulations to reel in these apartments turned into unregulated hotels, which have compromised residents’ quality of life and takes affordable housing away from those who need it most,” said Mayor Steven Fulop.
Mayor Fulop’s efforts to address the lack of accountability and safety regulations in Airbnb properties have garnered support from union representatives from Jersey City’s Police and Fire Departments, the Hotel Trade Council, City Council members, and local organizations. Requiring Airbnb hosts to register their properties would allow the city to track these units and monitor health and safety codes, increasing the safety of Jersey City communities.
Rather than fight Jersey City’s regulations in court, as it did in New York earlier this year, Airbnb mobilized a campaign called “Keep Our Homes” over the summer to force a referendum for the November election, hoping voters who benefit from hosting or renting Airbnb properties would repeal the ordinance. Opponents have framed the ordinance as a ban on short-term renting that would harm working families and seniors. Supporters of the ordinance argue it would not ban home-sharing services but would preserve small-scale short-term renting and safeguard against Airbnbs’ negative impact on the city’s affordable housing stock.
City Clerk Robert Byrne certified petitions organized by the Keep Our Homes’ campaign on August 7. The petitioners submitted 2,406 petitions with approximately 20,000 signatures, forcing the referendum to take place. The November 5 vote will determine whether Jersey City will uphold the city’s amended ordinance with new regulations on short-term rentals or will repeal it.