Banning short-term rentals won’t fix the housing crisis
When my husband and I bought a beautiful home along the Kootenai River in his hometown of Libby a few years ago, our intent was to sell our landscaping company in Post Falls, Idaho, retire early and move there.
Life had other plans that delayed retirement for us but didn’t delay the monthly mortgage payments on our future forever home. We had to come up with a creative solution and decided to list our home as a short-term rental.
Unfortunately, short-term rentals have become a target of legislators and local elected leaders in Montana, who argue those of us who choose to rent our homes on a short-term basis are contributing to housing shortages across the state. It’s an absurd and inaccurate suggestion not backed up by any facts, and I want to set the record straight on behalf of other hosts like me.
Our short-term rental is a 5,000-square-foot home in an otherwise fairly economically depressed part of Montana. It is still our plan to move there eventually because of my husband’s strong roots to the community and our love of the area. Until we can retire, we had to figure out a way to pay the mortgage and keep the house so we could continue to use it a couple of weeks every month. Becoming a short-term rental host was the ideal solution.
We invested heavily to remodel the home, buying lumber, cedar and supplies locally. We set it up to be an inviting space for visitors to stay for a few days at a time. And we made sure, through scheduling around guests, that we could also enjoy the home when we wanted.
This arrangement has not only allowed us to keep the home, but has sparked a love in both of us for being “hosts.” We both enjoy welcoming the diversity of guests to our rental, showing them what else the Libby area has to offer and encouraging them to be patrons of other businesses in town. We’ve built great relationships with our Libby neighbors, who all have been understanding and supportive of what we are doing.
When listening to state and local leaders discuss short-term rentals during the legislative session, I constantly heard a narrative so contrary to my own experiences. Owners of short-term rentals were vilified and blamed for housing shortages. We heard second-hand anecdotes of house parties destroying quiet neighborhoods and essential workers unable to afford a place to live.
Nowhere in their comments was any acknowledgement or understanding that many of us began doing this out of necessity; as a way to make money to afford the very property in question. Statistics provided by Montana Airbnb hosts and shared with legislators show that 62%1 said sharing their home has allowed them to meet the rising cost of living, and more than 33%2 said it has allowed them to stay in their homes.
And nowhere in the comments from elected leaders was there any acknowledgement of the contributions we provide to communities. I have yet to meet any fellow hosts who aren’t cheerleaders for their local area; buying locally, referring guests to local businesses, or giving back to their community in hundreds of ways.
My husband and I love Libby and intend to make it our permanent home. We invest in it and we spend money in it. During the pandemic, our rental became a temporary home to traveling nurses, a passion of ours since traveling nurses at a care facility in Washington state were instrumental in saving our teenage son.
We recognize that the influx of new residents in recent years has led to increased strains on housing in some communities. But suggesting that short-term rentals are the problem — and that banning or restricting them is the solution — holds no water. Montana can take very real steps to address its housing issues, but wagging fingers at folks who are simply using their private property to help pay for their private property is about as far from a solution as one could find.
Linda Gibson lives in Post Falls, Idaho.