TOURIST RENTALS MEDIATED BY PLATFORMS AND COMPETITION LAW 645 From London, Paris and Barcelona to cities such as Santa Monica, Nashville and Sacramento, among others, all of these cities have had to include legal issues related to short-term rentals by individuals on their agenda (Cfr. Guttentag, 2017; Interian, 2016). In each case, the legal reconfiguration has been the result of certain power dynamics, and as Guttentag (2017) asserts, the correlation of forces between the different actors has led to differences in Airbnb’s level of collaboration with the governments of these cities. In turn, cities have also been amending their position on Airbnb-mediated rentals. For instance, Sydney, Perth, Tasmania, Canary Islands, Louisville and Boulder had initially tightened the control of short-term rentals through different sanctions. However, the ineffectiveness of the measures adopted led them to opt for other strategies, such as increasing the control bodies and concluding collaboration agreements with the platform (Cfr. Guttentag, 2017). Despite the differences between these contexts, regulatory processes have had in common the fact that they were developed in scenarios of strong confrontations between the main actors and they have been the object of intense advertising campaigns, while also being under high media attention and pressure. In general, the legalisation of tourist rentals by private individuals has been favoured and, by means of different formulas, the aim has been to limit the negative effects that these have been generating in certain urban destinations. The majority of legislations coincide on the subjects to be regulated (typology of housing, a minimum/maximum number of nights and collection of taxes), although the formulas used vary among destinations. In addition, in the main American cities, special attention has been paid to the obligation to have insurance and to tax collection mechanisms (Interian, 2016). The most relevant differences with respect to short-term rentals made by private individuals in cities such as Barcelona, Paris, London, Rome, Berlin, Amsterdam, New York and San Francisco are as follows: 1) Distinction by type of dwelling – establishment of different regimes according to whether it is a first or second residence; 2) Determination the object of the rent – differentiation between the rental of the entire dwelling and the rental of rooms; 3) Delimitation of a period of duration to the rent – a distinction between minimum and maximum periods per year; 4) Requirement or free of prior authorisation to rent; and
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