I am writing to express my concerns about the town rental registry.
I am a vacation homeowner and I have worked with Airbnb to offset the costs of ownership. I am actually in a competitive position in Ludlow — guests don’t want to rent hovels that are fire hazards, and as an owner who would not risk harm to my family, I do want respectful guests with five-star reviews so I can screen accordingly.
While there are Airbnb’s that are intact clean homes — it’s a competitive market that keeps them so — there are actual residences that are hovels; literally some that barely have a roof or may be half-burned down. And I wonder how people can live there, one giant fire hazard after another, with no care given to maintenance. So I’m not happy with the town exploiting the short-term rental market while they let their residents live in homes that should be condemned, or at the least inspected.
If I tell a registry who is renting, what exactly can they do about it? Like having to tell the town who it is a realtor sells property to.
At this point in time, the fire and rescue departments need to make the case. Just exactly how many fires took place in short-term rentals? How many police calls, rescue calls, etc? Real numbers. Deal directly with the offenders; don’t just pluralize and lump everyone into the “problem basket.”
The cottage industry that I support alone — property manager, cleaners, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, restaurants — and the economic impact of the short-term rental market is a boon for Ludlow.
I hope the Ludlow Selectboard takes these points into consideration and acts in a way that it doesn’t end up hurting the town.
A.K. Lehmann
Ludlow, Vt.
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