Short-term home online rental services such as Airbnb and VRBO have been restricted by some local governments in Arizona, and the state passed a law banning those restrictions.
Thursday, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed a law that stops local governments from turning property owners into outlaws simply because they allow paying guests to stay in their homes through popular “sharing economy” services like Airbnb and VRBO.
In Arizona, Jerome, Sedona and Scottsdale have either banned vacation rentals or severely restricted them. Senate Bill 1350, sponsored by Sen. Debbie Lesko and passed with bipartisan support, is the first law of its kind in the country and ensures property use restrictions are limited to true health and safety concerns.
“This law is a huge win for property owners statewide. Gone are the days when you could face jail time and thousands in fines for renting out your house to tourists,” said Christina Sandefur, the executive vice president of the Goldwater Institute and author of the model bill that SB 1350 was based on.
Most of the news about “sharing economy” Airbnb, Uber and Lyft lately has seen them coming under assault, mostly by leftists who have a government fetish and hate the free market and competition. Austin, TX, just bounced Uber and Lyft (or created a situation where they had to bounce themselves), leaving 10,000 people without jobs, and was praised in The New York Times for doing so.
The excuse by every municipality that goes after these companies is that they’re just concerned about safety. One only has to ride for five minutes in a heavily regulated taxicab to see what a joke this is. What it is really about, as all things leftist are, is government control. You get a city full of hippies (Sedona) who haven’t had an idea since ever and they relish the thought of exacting revenge on anyone who takes advantage of private property ownership and the free market. How dare you try to do something legal to earn money with your own vehicle or home!
So they make it illegal.
Thankfully, most of these attempts haven’t stuck. But the assault will go on.
Just not in Arizona.
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