Frequently Searched

States Taking Steps to Regulate Home-Sharing, Threatening Property Rights

March 28, 2018

by Christina Sandefur
March 28, 2018

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGVYMklA4xM?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

Across the country, local governments are turning responsible property owners into outlaws simply because they allow paying guests to stay in their homes overnight.

A couple months ago, I wrote on this blog about bills working their way through the Florida legislature that would protect property owners’ rights to share their homes while allowing cities to focus on enforcing nuisance restrictions to protect quite, clean, and safe neighborhoods. Unfortunately, those bills fell victim to special interests and other unforeseen circumstances and did not make it across the finish line to become legislation. But that won’t be the last effort to protect home-sharing in the Sunshine State.

Unfortunately, some states are taking steps in the opposite direction, with proposals that would threaten or gut property rights. For example, the Maryland legislature is considering a set of bills that would give cities more power to impose restrictive and patchwork regulations on home-sharing while forcing home-sharing platforms like Airbnb and Homeaway to police homeowners who use their websites. Connecticut lawmakers want to require cities to regulate home-sharing by imposing a series of cumbersome licensing requirements and procedures. And under the guise of collecting taxes, Massachusetts is considering a proposal that would force homesharers to submit personal information to the Department of Revenue, which would make homeowners’ personal addresses available online in searchable format.

Punishing responsible homeowners and conscientious entrepreneurs only discourages hard work and hinders economic growth. And it violates an essential element of our constitutional freedom, the Cornerstone of Libertythe right to own property. And in addition to chipping away at property rights, these anti-home-sharing rules also have consequences for other rights, such as the rights to privacy, free speech, and to be free from arbitrary or discriminatory treatment. Cities may not deprive homeowners of their constitutionally protected rights simply because they offer their homes for rent on Airbnb or Homeaway.

There is a better way. A few years ago, Arizona made national news when it passed groundbreaking legislation, based on the Goldwater Institute’s model bill, to protect home-sharing. Arizona’s law ensures regulations on home-sharing are limited to addressing true health and safety concerns. States that want to “do something” about home-sharing should follow Arizona’s example. Rather than treating responsible homeowners like criminals, states can embrace the new opportunities the sharing economy provides property owners, visitors, and local businesses, and give homeowners a shot at living the American Dream.

Christina Sandefur is Executive Vice President of the Goldwater Institute.

 

 

More on this issue

Donate Now

Help all Americans live freer, happier lives. Join the Goldwater Institute as we defend and strengthen freedom in all 50 states.

Donate Now

Since 1988, the Goldwater Institute has been in the liberty business — defending and promoting freedom, and achieving more than 400 victories in all 50 states. Donate today to help support our mission.

We Protect Your Rights

Our attorneys defend individual rights and protect those who cannot protect themselves.

Need Help? Submit a case.

Get Connected to Goldwater

Sign up for the latest news, event updates, and more.

Wait! Don’t close this yet!

We are grateful for your support of the Goldwater Institute’s efforts to advance and defend liberty throughout the United States. For over 36 years, we’ve been defending the rights of Americans to live their lives free from government interference.

And Goldwater is unique in that we direct our efforts to the 50 states where we introduce and advance innovative ideas that expand freedom. And we fight in courtrooms and capitals nationwide to defend individual liberty.

In 2024 alone, we scored over 50 policy and litigation victories defending liberty!

And that’s just the beginning.

Our plans for 2025 include:

  • Stopping pernicious DEI and other woke programs in America’s universities.
  • Ensuring that patients suffering from rare and terminal diseases have access to cutting-edge, lifesaving medical treatments, without having to first seek permission from the government.
  • Defending parental rights across the United States so that parents can send their kids to the school that best fits their needs, free from leftist indoctrination.
  • Eliminating government interference in the fundamental right of individuals to own property and use it as they see fit.
  • And much, much more

We seek to restore the presumption of liberty; that people are free to act without first asking permission from the government.

But we cannot do this without you. Will you join us as we fight to preserve and advance liberty throughout the country? As we seek new and innovative ways to defend freedom in all 50 states?

And there’s great news: Thanks to a generous Goldwater supporter, your donation today will be doubled!

So please, join us in fighting to advance liberty and score real wins for freedom from coast to coast!