Rovaniemi residents march against the AirbnB law proposal Hs.fi

In Rovaniemi On Saturday, the residents organized a procession to oppose government -planned legislation on short rental homes. The procession marched in downtown Rovaniemi set off at noon.

The residents were organized by a local residents' association and a network of housing associations mainly in Rovaniemi.

« The bill is bad and problematic because it converts our homes into practice into hotels, » said the founding member of the housing company network Taina Torvela For STT earlier this week.

The bill in the consultation is aimed at regulating short rental homes, for example, on Airbnb.

The draft law proposes that short rent for your home should be allowed without restrictions. A short rent for an investment home or second home would be allowed 90 days a year, but the municipality could, if it wished, allow it 180 days a year.

Condominium In particular, the network criticizes the guidelines for short rental of investment homes. The network considers that the bill would release the apartments for large -scale accommodation.

“In practice, homeowners' homes would be transferred to the accommodation market,” says Torvela.

According to him, this would exacerbate Rovaniemi's housing shortage and raise housing prices.

Tourism, which has grown strongly in Rovaniemi, has increased demand for homes offered for short rental. Torvela says that 5-6 months a year in Rovaniemi is practiced completely professional short rent.

According to Torvela, short homes for travelers causes disturbances, insecurity and extra costs for regular residents.

The housing company network would like a much stricter limit for short rental than in the bill.

From living Corresponding Environmental and Climate Minister Sari Multala (Kok) says the bill aims to clarify the current situation that does not have clear legislation on short rent.

Multala states that there are different perspectives on short rental, and it is difficult to find the perfect solution for all groups.

“Efforts have been made to find a balanced solution that can clarify the current state and, on the other hand, follow the records of the government program,” Multala tells STT.

According to the Government Program, the purpose is to ensure the conditions for short -term rental activities, but at the same time allow for better intervention in the problems identified.

Multala points out that there is also a law project on updating the Housing Companies Act. It seeks to find ways to address problems in housing companies. According to Multala, an update of the Housing Companies Act is also needed to fully respond to residents' concerns.

Rovaniemi In the situation, Multala says that a significant additional restriction on short rental would be challenging, taking into account the high level of tourism in the area.

« Once this Rovaniemi problem has been addressed, the worst problems are focused on a few housing companies that are very large for short rental use, and of course there must be ways to address them. »

Multala reminds us that there are many locations in Finland where hotel capacity is not enough during big events. According to him, short rental can be enabled to organize bigger events in communities that otherwise do not have enough accommodation.