Citing familiar-sounding concerns about a diminishing stock of affordable housing, the Sonoma City Council yesterday agreed to place a moratorium on home-sharing services like Airbnb and VRBO in the tourist friendly city. The Press Democrat reports that the city council agreed unanimously to stop new short-term rentals until they can come up with a long-term plan for regulating them.
“I hear stories of families not being able to live in Sonoma,” Councilman David Cook told the paper. “We are in a housing crisis, some say housing emergency. I probably agree with that."
CBS 5, meanwhile, reports that the moratorium was across the board and would not just impact new rentals. We reached out to Airbnb for clarification on the matter, but have not received a response as of press time. If CBS 5 is correct, the city council's move will mean a lot of unhappy visitors who likely had Airbnbs and VRBOs booked for the busy fall wedding season in wine country but who now are out of a place to stay.
The Sonoma argument between those who rent out rooms and those who feel the rentals drive up housing costs is similar to one being had all over the country. While renting out a bedroom may allow the elderly retiree to make her mortgage payments, people using the services to rent out multiple properties are essentially pulling long-term rental stock out of the market — and likely driving up rental prices in the process.
At present there are only 55 legal vacation rentals in Sonoma.
