141–150 of 375 posts
To me it seems much more likely that this is the reason for such bans because in housing terms the number of Airbnb properties seems far too small to make a difference.
Bye bye to the great experience of living in Barcelona like a local for months. How will they limit temporal renting? Where is the limit line? Should you be a resident in the age of remote working?
You can still rent an apartment for months. It is going to be probably cheaper and as a tenant you will have legal protections that AirBnB users do not have. > How will they limit temporal renting Like any other illegal activity. My best guess is that the police will act when neighbors complain about noise or other nuisances. The fact that it is illegal will make easy to evict the occupants and fine the owner.
How will you separate it into two types?
Barcelona has a population of ~1.7 million. The metro area surrounding is ~5.7 million. The metro area grew by ~100k in the past four years. They are freeing up ~10,000 houses over the next four years with this legislation. Barcelona built ~15,000 new properties between 2011 and 2020. The math don't math. It's a drop in the bucket. The entire impact of AirBnB + all housing built in the last decade does not offset the…
The issue is that the "airbnb" areas drive normal citizens out which during off-seasons drains foot traffic making local shops go out of business which further complicates the problem. Not to mention that most tourists don't even sit around the local area, but rather go to the city attractions. Airbnb and resident housing areas are just not compatible, they have different needs and require different infrastructure. H…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's just basic urban planning and zoning. You can't run a factory in your apartment and you can't run a hotel. Plenty of cities restrict where hotels can operate. This is nothing special and certainly not authoritarian. These measures are quite popular because, shocking, people in residential neighborhoods like have real neighbors rather than hotel guests.
Yes, obviously everyone wants to be the last person allowed to move in somewhere, that's why they support these sorts of policies that foment resentment. NIMBYism also stifles most development in the US. But I don't see how it's not authoritarian. Giving these 10k flats to locals isn't going to put a dent in the housing economy.
If this thread continues for a few more levels, I think you’ll end up justifying hiring your own private police force.
Ownership requires that a state exists to enforce your rights. There are tradeoffs with this arrangement, one of which is that the state gets to set boundaries/limits on how you can use the thing you own. Ideally, acting with the best interests of the population. This sometimes includes ensuring areas are off limits to transient inhabitants so that a society can develop.
Barcelona has a population of ~1.7 million. The metro area surrounding is ~5.7 million. The metro area grew by ~100k in the past four years. They are freeing up ~10,000 houses over the next four years with this legislation. Barcelona built ~15,000 new properties between 2011 and 2020. The math don't math. It's a drop in the bucket. The entire impact of AirBnB + all housing built in the last decade does not offset the…
[Deleted] See LightHugger's comment and my response below: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40753303 ]
> “The measures we have taken will not change the situation in one day. These things take time. But with these measures we are reaching a turning point”
While some of the chosen phrasing in the article does read rather ideological, as you quoted, that could just as easily be the bent of the writer.
Your comment itself is actually more ideological and unfactual than anything in the article…
> In this case, facts and logic, being so inconvenient to ideological and political forces, likely had nothing to do with the decision.
Neither OP nor you nor any other commenter thus far has pointed out any factual inaccuracies. And nothing about the measure is illogical since incremental changes are still a step in their desired direction. And how did you determine their “likely” reasoning from a single article alone? Again, as quoted, they are aware their concerns are not fully addressed by this action alone.
One can be a political actor and still be factual and logical. Claiming otherwise is illogical and untrue. And doing so to diminish a policy you do not like …well that’s ideological and political.
I honestly think we need: 1. To outlaw AirBnB. Except if people are staying in your house while you're there . Other than that, it should be illegal; 2. 80% Capital Gains Tax on property sales other than your primary residence, withheld at source. 3. Withold 40% of rent income at source, which can only be credited against taxable income in the state and country; and 4. Tax non-primary residences at 2% of their market…
So, basically, make landownership practically illegal except for primary housing?
There is so much wrong with real estate as a speculative asset. It leads us to create policies to limit housing (because existing owners have their assets increase in value).
The problem with this idea is that money has to come from somewhere. All we're doing is stealing from the next generation. It's a massive wealth transfer from the young to the old and wealthy. Housing is a necessity. It should not be withheld from people for the sake of investment gains.
Homelessness is primarily caused by unaffordable housing. People don't like the externalities this creates but they simply want to move those people away so they don't have to see them when the solution is as simple as giving them housing. Well, not entirely, but that gets you 90% of the way there.
Withholding shelter in the wealthiest nation the Earth has ever seen is unjustifiable state violence.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Spain is the one the de densest countries if not the densest country in Europe. Most people live in flats in dense cities.
No, it’s not, it’s number 27. See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_and_population_of_Europ...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The issue is that the "airbnb" areas drive normal citizens out which during off-seasons drains foot traffic making local shops go out of business which further complicates the problem. Not to mention that most tourists don't even sit around the local area, but rather go to the city attractions. Airbnb and resident housing areas are just not compatible, they have different needs and require different infrastructure. H…
Businesses are unable to plan around seasonality? What's up with that? In the US, businesses in touristy areas often will shut down for the slow season.
Which is why tourist resort towns and stadium areas tend to have a lot of closed shops when they're not "on".
Which in turn makes them less attractive for year-round residents, which spirals into intensifying seasonality.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
For what it’s worth, it’s a little closer than your numbers imply. The city averages 2.51 people per household, so now they just need 75k more houses. https://www.barcelona.cat/infobarcelona/en/tema/city-council...
It still doesn't exactly look great that they "just" need ~45 years of house production to have happened yesterday.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Everyone wants lower housing prices, except for the house they currently own.
People who own a home, and don't have plans to move, would benefit from housing prices falling everywhere : property taxes go down, and other prices correlated with housing go down. Two categories where people don't want pricing to go down: If you have plans to move and prices aren't falling everywhere , the proceeds of a sale aren't enough to buy elsewhere. And if your bank owns the home rather than you, falling pri…