Challenger Vicki Hennessy, a former sheriff’s official who had the endorsement of the mayor and sheriff deputies association, was leading late Tuesday by a wide marging over embattled Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi.
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Perhaps the most divisive measure on the ballot is Proposition F, which would limit home-shares to 75 nights and require Airbnb and other hosting platforms to pull listings that exceed the limit.
San Francisco voters will decide Tuesday whether to restrict Airbnb operations in the city, impose a freeze on luxury housing in the Mission and approve a $310 million bond for affordable housing.
More than 55 percent of the about 133,000 ballots cast had opposed the proposition, according to data from the San Francisco Department of Elections.
So, while today was a win for the company, Prop F is likely not the end of Airbnb’s troubles, in San Francisco or anywhere else. Not only did the campaign target a specific tech company (Airbnb), but the law would have granted neighbors expanded powers to sue to each other.
That would be a significant change in the law allowing 90 days a year if the resident is absent and places no limits on renting a “hosted” spare room.
Airbnb says it is not to blame for the housing crisis, and claims its service helps people by providing income to those who need it.
Proposition F was a rather bold regulation.
Opponents say short-term rentals allow middle-class residents to make money from unused rooms, allowing them to stay in an increasingly expensive city.
Proponents of Prop F argued that the measure would prevent San Francisco’s housing shortage from getting worse by limiting the number of homes that could be turned into pseudo-hotels and reducing landlords’ incentive to evict longtime residents in order to convert units into profitable short-term rentals. A one bedroom apartment rents for $4,000 in San Francisco.
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Voters also checked “no” on a proposal to freeze market-rate housing development in the city’s Mission District – the site of protests in 2013 against tech company shuttle routes – for 18 months and require the city to develop an affordable housing plan for the area.
