DETROIT – Homes used as Airbnbs in certain Detroit neighborhoods will now face new regulations.
The regulations require homeowners to register their homes as rental properties before they can accommodate guests from the house-share website. When registering a home, a city inspection must be passed and there is a fee.
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City council member Scott Benson said concerns from residents are being addressed by the new requirement.
"At one point in Detroit, rental properties were like the wild wild West. It's no longer like that," Benson said.
David Bell, Director of the Buildings, Safety Engineering & Environmental Department, released this statement on Friday:
Detroit homeowners have been able to rent out a room in their homes for more than 100 years and we don't believe the new ordinance was intended to take away that right. The ordinance as written appears to ban all homeowners from having even their own friends and relatives stay at their homes if that friend or relative is paying them rent. The public was never told that was intended. I have asked the law department to review this question and give BSEED guidance.
Media reports that enforcement efforts have begun under this ordinance are false. Over the last two years there have been a few enforcement actions that have involved Airbnb properties, but those tickets have arisen from other complaints or violations related to those properties.
Until the law department review is complete, BSEED will not be ticketing homeowners for renting out rooms in their own residence, whether through airbnb or otherwise. BSEED and the administration will be working with City Council to resolve these issues.