Pittsburgh council looks to quickly implement Airbnb rental regulations after shooting

Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday introduced legislation to quickly regulate short-term rental properties, days after a shooting at a North Side Airbnb left two teenage boys dead and eight others wounded.

Legislation introduced would require anyone operating an Airbnb or similar short-term rental unit to get a license from the city’s Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections. The measure also would require property owners to keep record of who enters the property and provide contact information so that authorities can get in touch with them if problems arise.

In an effort to expedite the process, legislation to regulate short-term rental properties will appear on council’s standing committees meeting Wednesday. The earliest council could offer a final vote on the measure is next Tuesday.

“This is one of many steps,” said Councilman Bobby Wilson, who represents the area where the Sunday shooting occurred. “I think there needs to be more accountability here, in terms of stopping the violence.”

He and other council members acknowledged that Airbnb properties have been the sites of violence and caused other issues in the city, including illegal parking and suspected drug use. But Wilson said it’s also important to remember that acts of violence can occur anywhere, and emphasized that they need to focus on larger violence prevention efforts to reassure a community that remains on edge in the aftermath of the shooting.

“It was just a very troubling, a very deeply tragic event that happened,” Wilson said. “Just envisioning a moment where people feel the need to jump out the window because of the violence is just deeply troubling. I think the people who were there will grapple with that for quite some time, the rest of their life, most likely.”

Wilson urged council members to join him in speaking with the city’s youth about what violence prevention measures might help their generation.

Councilman Bruce Kraus said he has long advocated for a team of police officers who would be specially trained to handle social nightlife venues. They would be specifically trained to handle sound ordinances, occupancy issues and de-escalation, he said.

Kraus said there are venues throughout the city that are “prime and ripe” for a mass shooting, and said the time to prevent further violence is now.

“Young people are arming themselves because everyone else is armed and they feel they need to be armed for their own safety. We bear responsibility here, as the adults in the room,” he said, explaining that some youth today think of carrying a handgun in the way most people think about carrying a cellphone.

While Kraus and other members agreed that gun violence is not limited to short-term rental units, Kraus said this weekend’s events are also a reminder that Airbnb properties have caused issues in the past and need to be better controlled. He pointed to a 2019 shooting at an Airbnb in the Hill District that left two dead as one example of how the rental units have gotten out of hand in the past.

Airbnb said they have been in touch with Wilson and his team, and are supportive of their efforts to develop short-term rental regulations. The company said they strictly ban parties and touted their initiatives to enforce such rules. The company said they have a 24-hour safety team that enforces party policies and a Neighborhood Support Line where neighbors can flag parties and “party houses.”

Kraus, however, called their neighborhood support team an “abysmal joke.” While he acknowledged there are benefits to Airbnb for people who use the rentals responsibly, he said he is supportive of implementing regulations to keep the properties in check.

“I hope they learned a valuable lesson this weekend,” Kraus said.