Who is the new kid? Alfred Club Inc. Who is backing Alfred Club? The WeWork founder What is a residential services company? They provide apartment buildings with services such as concierge-like staff & software to manage maintenance requests and other paperwork Why does this matter? Avid InfoHivers will remember a COVID start up in Austin, TX that provided […]
Monthly Archives: October 2020
COVID Pivot. Short Term Rentals.
What takeaways can be found in Airbnb’s COVID pivot? Pay attention & Don’t panic. Urban residents wanted get aways that were in driving distance. Shared spaces of hotels were being shunned The pivot: focus on local stays Listen to your customers: The company reimbursed 1/3 the value of canceled stays Continued efforts concerning local & […]
COVID Legislation. Eviction Moratoriums
Where: Massachusetts What is the proposed legislation: H5018 (2020 | MA) How long would the eviction moratorium be extended under this legislation? A year after the pandemic emergency declaration expires What else would the bill do? freezes rents creates a fund to help financially distressed small landlords The policy goal: guarantee housing stability Patriot Ledger […]
COVID Housing Legislation.
South Dakota SCR 601 (2020 | SD) $10 M in CARES Act Funds for housing assistance, including rent, utilities and mortgage Mississippi HB1810 (2020 |MS) $20 million from the state’s budget contingency fund to a Rental Assistance Grant Program to provide relief to rental businesses Michigan SB 1132 (2020 | MI) Relief for seniors & […]
Did Eminent Domain flip Gubernatorial Support for High Speed Rail?
Maybe. The Texas Government has asked for additional information from stakeholders. The concerns raised over the project: whether “the private property rights of Texans are fully respected. .. “ His support is contingent on “if and only if” property rights are respected The messaging from landowners: “Gov. Abbott should be focused on saving Texans’ property, […]
BLM Meets Eminent Domain. Was your city’s eminent domain used disproportionately against Black residents?
Spartanburg, Southerner’s Carolina became the only city in the state to publicly acknowledge past racism and apologize to its Black residents in a resolution. What’s the eminent domain angle? In the 1960s and 1970s urban renewal funding was to target blight, but it was found to disproportionately impact Black communities that never recovered. What’s the […]
Constitutional Question: Masks + Separation of Powers
Ohio governor has a statewide mask mandate but will not enforce the mandate in the buildings that house the courts or the Legislature. Why will the Governor not tackle enforcement in these specific governmental buildings? It is a violation of separation of powers Is the Ohio legislature enforcing a mask requirement? NO What did each […]
Property Rights + Nuisances + Short Term Rentals + COVID
AirBnB is removing party houses from its listings. Let’s look at the criteria that is triggering removal: complaints had been received the property violated the company’s policies on parties and events previously received warnings What global action has AirBnB taken? Adopted a global ban in 2019 on listings that “created persistent neighborhood nuisance,” What COVID […]
On the ballot: Short Term Rental Restrictions
Where: Portland What is the ballot proposition: Limit short term rentals to properties in which owners live An Act to Restrict Short Term Rentals (STRs) in Portland will restrict all mainland STRs to only those that are owner-occupied. It increases the annual fee for all STR’s to $1,000 for each mainland STR and $400 for […]
On the ballot: Is your data private property
The state ballot: Michigan The ballot proposition: define electronic data as private property thereby requiring a warrant for law enforcement access Government Tech | Michigan Voters to Decide if Data Is Private Property