There is considerable debate in Great Barrington and some of the surrounding towns about the right of homeowners to use their homes, or rooms in their homes, as short-term rentals. Some people are dead set against these temporary rentals. Look, I get it. The theory is that these short-term rentals are making it difficult for people to find affordable rental housing in town.
In our case, we own a fairly large, three-story house in which we raised our family. Now we put up our children and grandchildren when they come to stay with us. The house sits on an acre of land pretty much in the middle of Great Barrington. We know that we are very lucky to live where we do.
The question is whether we should rent out the little stone outbuilding on our property that can comfortably house two people. We rent it through Airbnb. They take care of all the details and we try our best to make the people who rent it as comfortable as we can. We are just a few minutes from the town lake and downtown Great Barrington. Frankly, we love doing it. We’ve gotten to know some really good people, and the renters have left kind messages saying how much they like staying in our little cottage. We often, but not always, talk to the people who stay in the cottage and they tell us they eat most of their meals in town. They also frequently tell us about the great shopping experiences they have in Great Barrington.
There is a movement in town to stop people from renting out houses on a short-term basis, or even renting out rooms to people who want to come and stay here. The theory is that there will not be enough houses for full-time renters in town. That often means that renters are seen as people who can’t afford to buy. But you had better believe that people are paying a lot of money to rent, particularly in the summer when the demand is much higher.
Naturally, there are homeowners who believe that no one has the right to refuse to let them make money by renting out their property. But here, as in other desirable locations, people are buying up property solely for the purpose of short-term rentals. That is quite different from renting an outbuilding or a room in your house. So, there is a movement among some of our most enlightened politicians, like the always brilliant and progressive Leigh Davis, to cut the baby in half. That means that people who own and live on the property should be allowed to rent parts of the property that they actually live in. People would be precluded from purchasing homes just to use them for Airbnb rentals.
This is all tough stuff to figure out. If someone on your street is renting out an Airbnb, word gets around and the neighbors may not be pleased. They may well grumble to each other. On the other hand, there will be those who also grumble because they are being denied the right to the little extra money they need to survive. So, selectperson Leigh Davis has been assiduously trying to please everyone. As I have suggested, there is great benefit to the business and restaurant owners if people are staying in the neighborhood. Let’s face it, the folks who rent out hotel rooms certainly can’t be pleased when competition comes from the neighborhood. There are always things like taxes on hotels that need to be considered.
It’ll be interesting to see how all of this gets worked out.
