The mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey, said on Monday that his city could become the first in the New York City, tri-state area to legalize short-term housing rentals through Airbnb and similar online home-rental services. Fulop will introduce legislation to legalize the use of all short-term sleepover Web services, like Airbnb and HomeAway. Jersey City spokesman Ryan Jacobs said the city does not have to pay Airbnb anything for the 6 percent hotel tax to be applied, adding that the agreement ensures Jersey City will be able to regulate the popular service in the future.
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Airbnb connects travelers looking for lodging with local homeowners who want to rent out space in their homes. Mayor Fulop says by jumping onboard, Jersey City stands to earn $1 million a year from the taxes collected on rentals.
Fulop is proposing a levy of 6 percent on the Jersey City’s 300 short term rentals, a rate equal to the city’s hospitality tax.
As a Jersey native, I would point out that there are other reasons to prefer a Jersey City stay to one in Manhattan itself.
This is seen as a protection against properties being turned into de facto hotels, of which there have been a few instances, though it is a matter of debate how prevalent that practice is.
“This facilitates additional tourism and I think ultimately this only is going to promote Jersey City truly as an innovative place that understands that changing times and technology means a changing city”, he said. “With scarce affordable housing and unified opposition to illegal hotels here, this development will have zero impact on the law in New York”. Airbnb operates in 34,000 cities worldwide. “I think it’s a good idea”.
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“Right now, they’re operating anyway, it’s impossible to police it, so the goal was to find a way to make it work, and that’s what they’ve done”, Fulop said. Under the new law, he would have to get a license, as would anyone with more than five listings. “We can adjust our prices on the fly if nobody is staying”, he said.
