@Mic-and-Leeah0
Short term rentals were illegal in San Francisco prior to February 2015, so my understanding is that Brian, Joe and Nate would not have been able to get any sort of "permit" to do that when they started in 2008/2009. Short term rentals were not only illegal in SF when Airbnb started in SF, but they were in some instances criminal -- it was actually a misdemeanor crime to do short term rentals in some instances, if I understand correctly. So the point is that sometimes when a movement is starting, it can't be entirely neat and perfect and clearly legal right away. It's the movement itself, the phenomenon itself, which often brings about the change in the laws/regulations, as we are seeing, as the phenomenon of AIrbnb hosting is bringing out changes in many city regulations to permit home sharing where it was not permitted before. It literally has taken many people violating various "outdated laws" in mass numbers, in order to motivate cities to take up this issue and create fair regulations for the modern age.
That said, if people who are receiving subsidized housing or welfare, are renting out on Airbnb what they receive for free or on subsidy, I think that is an issue for governments, not for other Airbnb hosts. I think the host community is less divisive when we aren't putting on our police hats here to police each other over issues of law. However, I also think you are correct, Mic, when you say that there are moral issues involved. Yes there are moral issues in taking something that one gets for free or on subsidy, or by feigning need , or through exploitation of programs for the needy (eg rent control) and then turning around and profiteering on that. I think arguments about morality and ethics are appropriate for the host community, while I think we should avoid "policing" or pointing accusing fingers at each other vis a vis "the law" or "illegality." Let the government do the policing, and we as hosts can do the hosting.
Apart from the policing issue, another point I was trying to convey, is that precisely because the regulations on short term rentals are so much in flux these days, are changing in many places, it can be quite misleading to characterize something as "illegal" when in fact it may be illegal today, and quite legal tomorrow, or the reverse -- it's legal today, but will be illegal in 3 months from now. When "legality" is so rapidly changing, let's not speak as if it is something set in stone. The terms legal/illegal are just not that helpful, and can be misleading and problematic for a cultural phenomenon which is very much in flux and in regards to which, many cities are in the process of, or planning to, rewrite their regulations. Particularly in those parts of the world where the regulations on short term rentals have not yet been revisited by their municipalities in the new era of Airbnb hosting, I think it is shortsighted to quote such regulations as if they were definitively authoritative and final. The difficulty with short term rental "legality" is that in so many locales, it is a "moving target."
I also think the Airbnb host community will tend to lack empathy when a commercial landlord is upset about some small fry, because the small fry is effecting his larger business. AIrbnb is the community for the small fry, was the point I was making. So we are naturally more empathetic to the little people hosts.
@Stan-and-Jan0
Sorry to hear about your situation in Bend, OR. It seems that some of the towns/cities which are most "touristy" are developing some of the most restrictive and really hostile regulations towards home sharing. This is very unfortunate, but it is possible that in time with hosts advocating for their own interests, things might change.