St. Paul joins Minneapolis in approving Airbnb regs
Short-term residential rentals will soon be legal — and regulated — in St. Paul.
The St. Paul City Council on Wednesday approved regulations governing home sharing services like Airbnb and VRBO. They'll take effect in about a month.
Short-term rentals had been illegal within the city but thousands occurred every year, nevertheless.
With the new rules, rental companies and hosts must get licenses. Hosts must also have insurance and collect lodging and sales taxes. People renting out their homes will pay a $40 annual fee. Rental service platforms will pay $10,000.
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Council Member Chris Tolbert said the new rules protect the city, hosts and renters.
"When there are bad actors, we have the ability to stop them from participating in this business or to shut them down," Tolbert said.
Airbnb spokesperson Ben Breit said the rules are overly restrictive and the company may challenge them in court.
"We are disappointed that the city is moving forward with an ordinance that will lead to low compliance and imposes platform requirements that violate federal law."
Airbnb has said it may also contest regulations recently approved by Minneapolis.