This petition and language contained within it is my own and not associated with AirBnb as a company. I am an AirBnb host  as a single income homeowner, follow the city rules and laws in having a license per the expectations of my city, pay taxes through Airbnb to my city- and frankly need to be able to do Airbnb to offset the costs of being a homeowner and a public servant (who makes less money than those in private sectors!). I chose my profession because I am in it for the outcome, not the income and care passionately about people, their well being, and community. 

AirBnB and short term rentals have been written into many HOA covenants as not allowable. However, with the rising costs of living- AirBnb is a way for homeowners to offset costs of mortgages and day to day life.  Specifically for hosts that are home when guests are also there, hosting guests through Airbnb causes no harm to communities as hosts have active oversight of their guests behavior. The covenants typically used by HOA's contain language that work to "ensure safety" in the community. My question is- how are AirBnb guests any different than the guests that are already visiting folks in the community? In fact, I would argue that it may be safer to have an Airbnb guest due to the measures that  AirBbnb implements to maintain a safe experience for hosts and guests. This covenant also assumes that people who live in the community are safe- did your community background check YOU when you bought a house? Did they ensure that the folks around you aren't dealing drugs, involved in domestic violence relationships, or engaging in behaviors that may be harmful to yourself or others?? I'm sure that they did not.  As an Airbnb Host that is a single income home in a city where nearly nobody can afford to live- I am a strong advocate that AirBnb should be allowable, a homeowner choice and that HOA covenants should not dictate whether or not a homeowner can allow guests to stay in their home, especially while the host is home! I believe in safe communities, however HOA covenants are not what make a community safe. It is the people within the community that make it safe. While I am an advocate that AirBnB should be a homeowner choice, it would be appropriate for an HOA to shut a host down if there are continually problems in the community in that AirBnB. Rather than blanket covenants and laws that penalize hosts where there are LITERALLY NO ISSUES- let's work together to have realistic covenants- that truly do protect communities when there is harm present and not penalize homeowners who are abiding by all rules and not causing any harm in the community. 

Help me change laws related to HOA covenants so that homeowners have choice in whether or not they are an Airbnb Host and to prevent HOA's from having more control over decision making than homeowners do- yet still have the authority to manage situations where true HARM is occurring in a community.