For some people in Juneau, short-term rentals are an opportunity to bring in some extra cash or to make ends meet. But as the number of Airbnb and VRBOs increases, others feel they’re taking away housing desperately needed in the community.
City data and different analyses suggest there are likely around 300 to 400 short-term rentals in Juneau, but that the number could be even higher.
Short-term rentals are largely unregulated in Juneau, although the city did start requiring registration in 2023. But a new city task force is meeting regularly to decide whether there should be some firmer rules in place.
But, there’s a problem with the group, Assembly member Alicia Hughes-Skandijs says — she’s the only member out of 11 who is a long-term renter.
“We need to have people affected by the industry, and that would be renters, and that’s a demographic that sometimes is not represented,” she said.
She said the makeup of the task force doesn’t fully represent the diversity of Juneau’s housing needs. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about a third of residents are renters. That’s a starkly different makeup from the task force.
“I don’t want to suggest that people can’t make really good civic contributions to a place they care about. But it is not marked by that sense of urgency, because they’re not affected in the same way,” she said.
Both renting and owning in Juneau are expensive. The average single-family home costs more in Juneau than anywhere else in Alaska, and it ranks fifth in the state for the highest average rental costs for a two-bedroom.
The task force’s goal is to assess the short-term rental market and make recommendations that improve housing availability. Mayor Beth Weldon hand-picked the members of the group.
She said, despite the lack of renters, she believes the group can still make decisions that represent the various viewpoints on short-term rentals in town.
“Are we missing the people that are going to come and say, ‘I can’t find rental places?’ Yes. But are we still accounting for people there that want to regulate? I think that’s already represented,” she said.
She noted that she did ask a handful of people who were renters to join the task force, but they declined.
“Quite honestly, when you do a task force, it’s hard to get all the voices, but keep the group a manageable group,” she said.
The task force has been meeting biweekly since January. They plan to host two public meetings in the coming months to get feedback from residents on what kind of regulations they’d like to see. Hughes-Skandijs said it’s important that people, specifically long-term renters, go to those meetings and make sure their voices are heard. People can also submit comments and suggestions on the task force’s website.
“That is a real opportunity to be heard. We would love to hear your thoughts on what you think we should do, how you think we should do it,” she said. “If people have strong thoughts about the process, then we would love to learn from that.”
Once the task force makes its recommendations, it will ultimately be up to the Assembly to decide how to implement them.
If they pass regulations, Juneau wouldn’t be the first community in Alaska to do so. Communities around the state and country have already taken steps to curb the increase in their markets.
In Sitka, short-term rental owners are required to live on the property for half of the year. And Wasilla only offers 75 short-term rental permits per year. Vacation destinations in states like Colorado have also put into place similar laws.
