Airbnb is a big deal and big business in San Francisco, where the service is still technically illegal.
Efforts to end the gray area and legalize the home-renting service stalled Monday amidst questions as to exactly how San Francisco could impose a fee and prove that Airbnb users actually lived in their homes for at least part of the year, according to reports.
The San Francisco Examiner reported that a Board of Supervisors committee elected to punt on legislation that would have seen Airbnb legalized if a host registered with the city, paid a fee, and actually lived in the unit for nine months out of the year. The law would have applied to multi-unit buildings only.
A vote was delayed for two weeks, when the committee will take up the question again, the newspaper reported.
The major sticking point was enforcement, and how the city could prove an Airbnb host lived in their unit 275 days out of the year, the newspaper reported.
Supervisor Jane Kim was the "most outspoken critic" of the legalization proposal pushed by Board of Supervisors President David Chiu, the newspaper reported.
There are 5,000 Airbnb listings in San Francisco. The company does not yet pay the 14 percent tax on hotel rooms paid by traditional hoteliers.
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That could mean "tens of millions of dollars" in lost tax revenue, some say.
