People In San Francisco Are Getting Evicted For Using Airbnb - Now They're Fighting Back
The petition, which currently has over 22,000 signatures, calls on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to change the law so that it protects people who share their homes.
"Right now - some predatory landlords are evicting Airbnb hosts, leaving them only 72 hours to vacate their homes and no opportunity for recourse," Airbnb wrote in an email to its members.
This month, San Francisco resident Jeffrey Katz received a 72-hour eviction notice that stated, "You are illegally using the premises as a tourist or transient unit," charging him with violating the city's ordinances.
Last month, Lisa Weitekamp and Chad Selph also received a 72-hour eviction notice for renting out one of their guest rooms to two Airbnb guests for a total of three nights in October 2013.
San Francisco bans short-term rentals, which means that anyone who rents out their space on services like Airbnb and VRBO can face fines by the City Planning Department, and eviction on the grounds of illegally operating hotels.
Here's the full email:
As a member of the Airbnb community, you may have heard that some hosts in Airbnb's hometown of San Francisco have been evicted or fined because they shared their homes.
On Tuesday, President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors David Chiu proposed new rules that would help San Franciscans share their homes. This is an important step, but there is still work to be done.
Right now - some predatory landlords are evicting Airbnb hosts, leaving them only 72 hours to vacate their homes and no opportunity for recourse.
That's why Peter, an Airbnb host and the leader of the Home Sharers of San Francisco Airbnb Group, started a petition that now has over 18,000 signatures calling on San Francisco lawmakers to fix the law and stop these evictions.
Sign Peter's Petition to Stop the Evictions and Fix the Law in San Francisco.
At this time, it's essential that lawmakers hear from not only San Francisco residents, but also from people all over the world who want safe and affordable options when they visit our great city. I hope you'll make your voice heard now by signing Peter's petition.