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Smart Voter
San Francisco County, CA November 3, 2015 Election
Measure F
Short-Term Residential Rentals
City and County of San Francisco

Majority Approval Required

Fail: 88,945 / 44.41% Yes votes ...... 111,348 / 55.59% No votes

See Also: Index of all Propositions

Information shown below: Summary | Yes/No Meaning |

Shall the City limit short-term rentals of a housing unit to 75 days per year regardless of whether the rental is hosted or unhosted; require owners to provide proof that they authorize the unit as a short-term rental; require residents who offer short-term rentals to submit quarterly reports on the number of days they live in the unit and the number of days the unit is rented; prohibit short-term rentals of in-law units; allow interested parties to sue hosting platforms; and make it a misdemeanor for a hosting platform to unlawfully list a unit as a short-term rental?

Summary Prepared by the Ballot Simplification Committee:
The Way It Is Now: In an effort to prevent converting residential units to tourist use, San Francisco limits short-term rentals of residential units. A short-term rental lasts less than 30 days.

These limits, set forth in San Francisco's short-term residential rental law, require that:

  • Only permanent residents may offer a residential unit for short-term rental. A permanent resident is someone who has occupied the unit for at least 60 consecutive days. Before offering a unit for shortterm rental, permanent residents must register the unit with the City's Office of Short-Term Residential Rental Administration and Enforcement.
  • A permanent resident may not rent a residential unit on a short-term basis for more than 90 days per year if the resident does not live there during the rental period (unhosted rentals). There is no limit on the number of days per year for short-term rentals if the resident lives in the unit during the rental period (hosted rentals).
  • Hosting platforms, which provide a means for a person to advertise a residential unit for short-term rental, must notify users of the City's regulations on short-term rentals.

Short-term rentals are subject to the City's hotel tax. It is a misdemeanor for an owner or tenant to unlawfully rent a unit as a short-term rental.

In addition, interested parties may sue violators. Interested parties are defined as residents of the building where the residential unit is located, the owner of the unit, people who live within 100 feet of the unit, and certain housing nonprofit organizations. The City may sue any violator at any time, but only the City may sue hosting platforms for violating the short-term rental law.

The Proposal: Proposition F would limit short-term rentals of a unit to 75 days per year, regardless of whether the rental is hosted or unhosted. Hosting platforms would have to stop listing a unit for short-term rental once that unit has been rented on a short-term basis for more than 75 days in a calendar year. Proposition F would require proof that the unit's owner authorizes using the unit as a short-term rental. After including a unit on its short-term rental registry, the City would be required to post a notice on the building stating that a unit has been approved for use as a short-term rental.

The City would also be required to mail a notice to the owners, neighbors of the unit and interested neighborhood organizations.

Proposition F would require residents who offer shortterm rentals to submit quarterly reports on the number of days they live in the unit and the number of days the unit is rented.

Proposition F also would:

  • prohibit short-term rental of an in-law unit even by a permanent resident of that unit.
  • allow interested parties to sue permanent residents and hosting platforms.
  • make it a misdemeanor for a hosting platform to unlawfully list a unit as a short-term rental.

Meaning of Voting Yes/No
A YES vote on this measure means:
A "YES" Vote Means: If you vote "yes," you want to:
  • limit short-term rentals of a unit to 75 days per year regardless of whether the rental is hosted or unhosted;
  • require owners to provide proof that they authorize the unit as a short-term rental;
  • require residents who offer short-term rentals to submit quarterly reports on the number of days they live in the unit and the number of days the unit is rented;
  • prohibit short-term rentals of in-law units;
  • allow interested parties to sue hosting platforms; and
  • make it a misdemeanor for a hosting platform to unlawfully list a unit as a short-term rental.

A NO vote on this measure means:
A "NO" Vote Means: If you vote "no," you do not want to make these changes to City law

 
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Created: December 21, 2015 20:37 PST
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