Airbnbs and rent control

THE EDITOR, Madam:

I read with interest in the past few issues of The Gleaner about the proposal to regulate Airbnb operators in Jamaica. Regardless of the merits of the proposal, or its finer details, I was shocked to read that Airbnbs are not currently regulated. In Jamaica, the Rent Restriction Act (enforced by the Rent Assessment Board) applies to “ all dwelling houses ... whether let furnished or unfurnished”. There is no exemption in the act or its regulations for short-term rentals, only for hotels and licensed tourist accommodation. But as Airbnbs are not licensed by the Jamaica Tourist Board, they cannot be exempt from the Rent Restriction Act. Failing to register with the Rent Assessment Board, when one should, is a criminal offence and brings either a fine of J$5,000 or six months in prison.

One also has to wonder how much of Jamaica’s ‘luxury’, long-term rental sector, which is increasingly pricing ordinary people out of vast swathes of Kingston, has been assessed by the Rent Assessment Board. It appears to me that the Government already has the legislative framework to regulate Airbnbs and keep the spiralling rental costs of Jamaica’s towns and cities under control, but chooses, instead, not to use it.

ANDREW WILLIAMS

Kingston