A new study from the R Street Institute aims to score America’s 59 largest cities on their openness to short-term-rentals (STR’s) according to their regulatory, legal and tax-collection environment. Using their “Roomscore,” grading system, the study assigns cities grades from A to F in multiple areas determining their friendliness or hostility to short term rentals.
Of the 59 cities rated, the study found that Galveston and Savannah were the most friendly to STR listing services like Airbnb and Homeaway. And, Atlanta, Denver and Oklahoma City were the least friendly to STR’s.
“An overview of the legal frameworks that local jurisdictions have adopted to regulate short-term rentals shows a policy environment that is ‘immature,’” said the study’s author, R Street Senior Fellow Andrew Moylan. “This is similar to what we saw two years ago in our first report about local rules for ridesharing. The number of cities and states that have created regulatory frameworks in the time since has grown by leaps and bounds.”
