Alexia Anders | Airbnb: A Catalyst For Gentrification & Homelessness

As an architectural designer and tiny house builder, I often feel disgusted with my greedy, short-sighted self, and rightfully so.

See, my target market and clientele includes both organisations helping end homelessness, and Airbnb entrepreneurs. I'm essentially playing both sides to the detriment of lower-income families, in the short-term, and at the same time playing myself, in the long run, as I'll eventually end up out of business and homeless too.

The insidious influence of Airbnb on homelessness through gentrification is a nagging concern that gnaws at my conscience.

The conversion of residential properties into Airbnb rentals in a given neigbourhood, while seemingly innocuous on the surface, stealthily diminishes the pool of long-term housing options. With each apartment or house or backyard or plot of land I, and many other construction practitioners across the world, help repurpose for short-term stays, the availability of affordable long-term rentals dwindles, leaving lower-income families and individuals stranded with stretched budgets. The economic strain imposed by this housing scarcity threatens to displace those who have long called these neighborhoods home, their livelihoods and sense of belonging jeopardized by escalating costs.

Eventually, the economic pressure forces these lower-income families and single individuals out of their neighbourhoods, leaving only the middle-class with disposable income in place. The very nature of short-term rentals, like those offered by Airbnb, perpetually brings in middle-class outsiders in the form of tourists and business travellers to a given neighbourhood.

The repercussions extend beyond rental markets, infiltrating property ownership. The presence of Airbnb not only pushes rents higher, but inflates prices in the ownership market as well. When a home buyer puts in an offer on a home with the intention of renting out a bedroom, basement, attic, or servant quarters unit to offset the mortgage costs, that pushes prices higher for everyone in the market — even those who don’t intend to rent out a part of their home.

Setting mortgage repayment aside, the sheer allure of supplemental income alone, is enough to prompt homeowners to capitalize on the Airbnb trend, driving up housing prices and perpetuating a cycle of inflated market values.

Yes, in this supply and demand, turning a profit often eclipses our sense of community. Even those landlords, homeowners, architects, and other construction practitioners uninterested in partaking in short-term rentals, find themselves ensnared in the escalating costs, as the ripple effects reverberate across the entire housing spectrum.

So, as Airbnb proliferates in coveted locales, the contours of gentrification become increasingly pronounced, subtly reshaping our neighborhoods into exclusive enclaves accessible only to the privileged few. It's the unintended consequences of our collective selfish actions in not safeguarding the lower-income segment of our societies against the encroaching tide of gentrification.