INDIANAPOLIS -- The professional association representing nearly 7,500 Realtors in Central Indiana has come out against Carmel's ban on short-term home rentals like Airbnb.
Earlier this week, Carmel's Division of Building and Code Services began sending letters to residents who have their homes listed on Airbnb, telling them they are in violation of the city's zoning laws. Homeowners have 10 days to remove their home from listings or file for a zoning variance.
City officials said they've received complaints from residents, homeowners associations and local hotels about the number of homes listed on the travel site.
READ MORE | Carmel cracks down on homeowners listing their property on Airbnb
On Friday, MIBOR REALTOR Association, which represents Central Indiana Realtors, released a statement calling Carmel's ban an infringement upon private property rights.
"Rental restrictions infringe upon private property rights, limiting a homeowner’s ability to reasonably use their property in a way that does not negatively impact neighbors," MIBOR wrote. "Concerns about noise, crowds, disorderly and disruptive tenants, traffic and parking are simply unrealistic fears. Comparing a short term rental to a business such as a dry cleaner or factory is also unrealistic."
MIBOR said the ban also denies the city opportunities to attract new residents through services like Airbnb.
"MIBOR believes the City of Carmel and other municipalities working to ban or restrict short term rentals are also restricting an opportunity for community and economic growth," the statement reads. "Short term rentals provide an opportunity for communities to showcase their neighborhoods, promote tourism and generate revenue in the community. Short term rentals have become a great option for consumers and are a very popular alternative for some travelers who prefer something other than the traditional hotel accommodations."
Carmel explained its decision in part by saying Airbnb represented unfair competition to the city's hotels.
“Businesses such as our local hotels must invest a lot of money to meet the requirements of their zoning and be able to legally operate as a hotel," Carmel wrote in a letter to homeowners using Airbnb. "Because of that, we don’t believe it is fair to our hotels to allow someone to operate a competing business when they are not held to that same higher standard of construction because of their zoning classification.”
Statewide, Indiana saw a 174-percent increase in people using Airbnb in 2016 compared to the previous year. Indianapolis alone saw an estimated 34,000 people use the service, bringing in an estimated $4.5 million for Indy homeowners.
The company says about 1,900 people used the service in Carmel, representing host income of approximately $240,000.
