Band 6+: The growing popularity of short-term rentals (e.g., through online platforms) is creating problems in many residential areas, such as noise complaints and lack of affordable housing for local residents. What are the root causes of these problems, and what solution can be implemented to mitigate these negative effects?

Nowadays, short-term accommodation offered via online sources has become increasingly common. While this ongoing trend has led to serious concerns such as noise pollution and a shortage of affordable housing for local individuals. Whereas the possible causes of short-term rental through online platforms are higher profits for landlords and tourism pressure, I believe these issues can be handled by regulation limits and zoning laws.

From a causal perspective, one of the most influential factors behind this issue can be higher incomes for landlords. Many property owners earn lots of money from short-term rentals on social media. To clarify, short-term rentals bring more money than long term ones, so owners prefer tourists over locals. Also, tourists pay more than local people as they do not know normal rental costs. The second major underlying cause of this issue is tourism pressure. The growing number of tourists also impacts on short-term rentals, many people are starting to travel over the world. As a result, short-term rentals became significantly popular. To simplify, popular tourist destinations face high demand, which reduces housing availability for residents. Thus, possible causes of these problems are higher profits for owners and tourism pressure, creating issues for local people.

The effective measures to tackle this issue would be regulations and limits. In many urban areas, landlords rent their accommodation for short-term. Government should cap the number of days a property can be rented in short-term. To exemplify, government should reduce short-term rents with limiting them, which owners can rent their quarters for several days or months. Also, these problems could be alleviated by zoning laws. Meaning that short-term rents should be banned from urban areas to other locations. To be more exact, temporary rentals should be allowed only in specific areas, not in family neighborhoods, preventing from arising social complaints. Overall, these issues can be effectively managed with the support of government regulations and robust zoning laws.

To sum up, possible causes of this phenomenon can be attributed to more income for property owners and tourism pressure, while the following issue can be solved by government’s limits and creating new zoning laws.