The Village of Yellow Springs has passed several new rules for Airbnbs operating in the village.
In early May the village council voted unanimously to create a moratorium on new Airbnbs that are not located at the property owner’s main residence.
Owners will have to prove they live in the residence at least 51 percent of the year.
Airbnb proponents say renting rooms helps them make ends meet in pricey locations. Opponents of the spread of Airbnbs say they remove affordable housing units from the local market.
But Laura Curliss, with the Yellow Springs Village Council, says the new restrictions are less about cost than about preserving a sense of community.
“You can imagine that if on a single block of a community there were say 10 houses on the block and two, three, four of them were short-term rentals — that the neighborhood doesn't become a neighborhood anymore."
Changes to the village’s lodging excise tax will also require all existing Airbnbs, hotels and bed & breakfasts to pay an additional $100 annual certification fee.
