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After 4 Years of Discussion, Airbnb Still Illegal in S’pore; Authorities Explain The Reasons

2019-05-12 , 2:00 am

The sharing economy is truly the next big thing for many good reasons like being more sustainable.

And it’s not like Singapore doesn’t see the benefits; from the way people are Grabbing to every corner of our dot and using Carousell to buy and sell tons of crap faster than ever, it’s clear that Singapore hasn’t exactly been holding back.

But the market for short-term rentals (less than 3 months) remains silent because it’s still illegal.

(Oh yes, lest you’re not aware, in Singapore, it was never legal before)

The Survey

So, why? Why are cars allowed to fetch strangers but strangers can’t live in a house that you own?

Well, URA is the board in charge of this matter and they didn’t just decide this on their own discretion.

According to TODAYonline, a survey conducted on private homeowners from August to November in 2018 found that:

68% felt short-term rentals would raise security concerns in their estate
67% felt it would result in a loss of privacy for residents (maybe for the neighbours)
56% felt short-term occupants may damage common facilities
Above 60% felt such occupants could misbehave and cause noise and other disturbance

Clearly, the majority aren’t very comfortable with the idea.

To top it all of, even if short-term rentals were legal, only 7% would let out their homes, so you can see why it seems reasonable to keep things status quo.

For The Society

As recognised by Ms Christine Li, head of research for Singapore and South-east Asia at real estate services company Cushman and Wakefield, the way Singapore is so densely populated makes it prudent to respect the interests of residents in private properties.

For the greater good, it makes sense that the Government is more careful in preventing disruptions “especially when the beneficiaries of short-term accommodation would be mainly the property investors”.

A Matter of Economics

Ms Li also says keeping the option of home sharing out will sustain the demand for mid-tier and economy hotels from leisure travellers, said Ms Li.

Growing demand with a limited increase in the supply of hotel rooms in the next few years pushes up hotel occupancy and room rates, which she says would bar any shock to the global economy.

What do Airbnb and HomeAway think?

According to TODAYonline, Ms Mich Goh, Airbnb’s head of public policy for South-east Asia, said: “After nearly four years of consultation, it is disappointing that the discussion has not moved forward.”

They will continue to work with the Government, offering tools that help hosts comply with local laws in hopes of coming to an agreement that will support home-sharing in Singapore.

HomeAway, another operator, also offers its partnership with the Singapore Government whenever we are ready.

They proposed to work out a solution that “does not penalise bona fide operators like ourselves and present high barriers to entry that risks driving the industry underground”.

Despite the platform operators requesting a “lighter touch approach” in response to what they feel are overly restrictive rules, URA resisted.

They reportedly state: “It is understandable that the platform operators would be driven by their commercial imperatives. But it is not tenable for URA to allow a more relaxed regulatory framework that does not address the concerns raised by Singaporeans.”

Conclusion

Actually, unless you have a house you want to share with the world (which applies to about 7% of you, and by you we mean private homeowners who took the survey), we seem to have the best of both worlds here.

Safety in our own country while continuing to enjoy more affordable accommodations in other countries.

But when more of us start to embrace the idea of sharing our living quarters with travellers, that’s probably when the laws will shift because they represent our interests.