Seattle council approves regulations on Airbnb hosts

The Seattle City Council voted in favor of short-term rental regulations that will affect residents who use services like Airbnb.

RELATED: Seattle considers short-term rental regulations

The new regulations cap the number of short term rentals that individual owners can have at two. They also require all short-term rental operators to have a city license. Many of the rental operators have argued that the new rules will put them out of business.

Airbnb regulations

The new regulations tax hosts $10 for each night of a rental.  It also requires that landlords obtain a short-term rental operator’s license — hosts would be charged $75 annually, in addition to a required business license that is already required.

Opponents argued that these costs in Seattle will be passed along to customers.

If hosts don’t follow the regulations, they could be fined up to $500 for the first violation, and $1,000 for each violation after that.

The number of Airbnb units in Seattle jumped by 2,500 in the past year alone, KIRO Radio reports. At the same time long-term residents struggle to find affordable housing in the region. Some city leaders encourage local landlords to use their short-term rentals for long-term residents.

Revenue from the new regulations will go to “investments in affordable housing and to support community-initiated equitable development projects,” according to the legislation.