Airbnb is all but locked out of New York City, but short-term rentals are finding a home across the Hudson River in Hoboken, New Jersey.
The 1.25-square-mile city of roughly 60,000 residents, known for its bars, pizza shops and fleece-vested yuppies, lacks any rules pertaining to short-term listings. It’s a sharp contrast to the five boroughs and many other New Jersey municipalities that outright ban rentals of less than 30 days or impose strict regulations.
Hoboken’s laissez-faire approach has led to a surge in listings ahead of this summer’s FIFA World Cup, as well as criticism from affordable housing advocates who support ongoing efforts to establish some parameters.
City officials say they are now crafting legislation to regulate short-term rentals, while still allowing property owners to cash in on the upcoming tourism boom around the soccer tournament.
”The reality is that these short-term rentals are going to happen and so what we want to do is take this market out of the gray zone,” said Hoboken Councilmember Joe Quintero, a lawmaker working on new short-term rental legislation. “If we don't have clear rules set, it will be the Wild West.”
Quintero said he and other city officials are motivated to quickly enact the new legislation before the global spectacle kicks off in just over two months. State officials estimate more than 1.2 million people will visit the area during the monthlong tournament that features eight games at MetLife Stadium, including the final match.
Hoboken lawmakers have long debated regulations around short-term rentals. One former lawmaker directly benefited from the lack of rules. Councilmember Michael DeFusco faced scrutiny for renting out his home on Airbnb early in the COVID-19 pandemic, according to local news reports.
Tourists — and New Jersey property owners hoping to cash in on their visits — face a patchwork of rules in the state around the legality of short-term rentals. The rules can vary block by block.
Hoboken’s willingness to embrace Airbnb defies the trend in other nearby towns. Kearny, a town of roughly 40,000 located in western Hudson County, banned all new short-term rentals earlier this year. Union City, Weehawken and West New York already prohibited the vacation stays.
Quintero said Hoboken will take a different approach, akin to Jersey City, its larger neighbor. Jersey City requires owners to obtain a permit to list properties on Airbnb and other platforms and prohibits rent-controlled apartments from being used as short-term rentals.
We have a serious problem with displacement in Hoboken.
Hoboken has complicated rent-control laws that typically apply to apartments in buildings constructed more than 30 years ago as well as some more recently constructed complexes. The regulations are meant to shield tenants from large rent hikes. Landlords are not allowed to lease the units for more money to short-term visitors.
Quintero said he also wants to explicitly prohibit rent-controlled apartments in Hoboken from being used as short-term rentals and to impose a hotel tax on Airbnb, Vrbo and other listings.
“That is a revenue source that we can and should avail ourselves of if we have the opportunity,” he said.
Hoboken Mayor Emily Jabbour did not answer questions about her position on short-term rental rules and instead deferred to Quintero and the City Council.
Airbnb’s Northeast Atlantic Policy Lead Michael Blaustein said the company was pleased with Hoboken’s stance.
“We’re glad that New Jersey residents are seeing expanded opportunities to earn supplemental income from home sharing,” Blaustein said.
But affordable housing advocates, including members of the Hoboken Fair Housing Association, have sharply criticized the city's embrace of short-term rentals.
Cheryl Fallick, an association spokesperson and a member of Hoboken’s rent-leveling board, said the windfall from short-term rentals incentivizes owners to keep affordable housing off the market.
She said the city should only allow short-term rentals in limited circumstances — like owner-occupied units when the owners themselves are present or for a limited number of days if the owner is away.
“I’m OK with it if you have an extra bedroom and while you're living there, you want to Airbnb it,” she said. “And if you own a condo and you go to Florida for the winter, you want to Airbnb the condo and charge the legal rent.”
But she said the lack of clear regulations is turning rent-controlled apartments into de facto hotels and driving lower-income renters out of town.
“We have a massive problem of people being pushed out of their rent-controlled apartments so [owners] can tear it down,” Fallick said. “We have a serious problem with displacement in Hoboken.”
She said new rules, when they come, will have little effect without enforcement.
