Over the past decade, short-term rentals have proliferated in local housing markets across the United States. The rising popularity of this home-sharing model has caused concerns about the impacts these rentals have on local rent prices and housing supply. Policymakers at the local, state, and federal levels have introduced a host of regulatory measures to curb adverse impacts and restore balance to the market, maintain housing affordability across tenure groups, and ensure compliance with state and local law. However, short-term rentals still manage to strain local housing markets with each passing year. Rather than enact blanket legislation, policymakers should adopt comprehensive planning strategies focused on both short-term rentals and other contributors to housing mismatches perpetuated by this industry, tailored to meet the needs of their specific communities.

Long-standing assumptions about renter demand and demographics are being challenged by the proliferation of a new, e-commerce-focused housing business model sweeping the country: short-term rentals. The permissible length of stay in STRs varies from property to property, and residents are typically charged on a nightly or weekly basis to live in pre-furnished rooms or entire units.