How older Americans benefit from locally regulated short-term rentals | Opinion

Tennessee is a beautiful state that attracts millions of visitors each year with its diverse landscape and myriad attractions.

While these tourists can be a boon to the local economy, there are unfortunate biproducts that affect the fabric of local neighborhoods where seniors live.

Many of these tourists opt for short-term rentals through companies like Airbnb and VRBO. As a result, local jurisdictions need the ability to ensure these rentals are not disrupting the people who live in these communities.

Unfortunately, some in the legislature are considering policies that would prevent local control of short-term rentals.

Another view:Why Nashville's real estate market is hungry for short-term rentals | Opinion

Older adults expect safety and stability

When a family invests in a home, many of them expect to live in the community for most, if not the rest, of their lives.

This is especially true for seniors, who, when settling down in their retirement years and often on a fixed income, expect to settle down for good – and they should be free from burdensome disruptions by strangers.

From young families to senior citizens, residents rely on the advantages of living in a safe, stable community where they are familiar with their neighbors and can live with ease and comfort. But any legislation that could strip cities and towns of the ability to protect their communities weakens oversight of short-term rentals and puts these same communities at risk.

Hear more Tennessee Voices: Get the weekly opinion newsletter for insightful and thought provoking columns.

Neighborhoods are being destabilized

The problem isn’t that some homeowners are listing their property for rent, rather, entire neighborhoods in places like Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis, Nashville and elsewhere are becoming unrecognizable because many of the homes are no longer owned by community members.

Instead, they are bought by out-of-state investors who only intend for these properties to function as for-profit vacation rentals.

There has been a drastic increase in this trend in recent years, one that is destabilizing neighborhoods and causing concern among seniors and other community members.

Sign up for Latino Tennessee Voices newsletter:Read compelling stories for and with the Latino community in Tennessee. 

Criminal activity is a grave concern

Unfortunately, short-term rentals contribute to an uptick in crime in many areas. Take, for example, a recent shooting at a short-term rental in East Nashville that left one person dead and three injured during a robbery, which detectives believe happened during or just after a large party.

In recent months, Nashville police have also investigated at least four different instances of short-term rentals being targeted by criminals. These rentals are often the targets of break-ins and other crime due to the lack of certainty on those coming and going from residences and guests’ lack of familiarity with the home and area.

Simply put, seniors should not have to deal with this kind of risk and instability in their retirement years.

Sign up for Black Tennessee Voices newsletter:Read compelling columns by Black writers from across Tennessee. 

Lack of oversight tears at fabric of communities

A revolving door of transient visitors is not what seniors want in their neighborhood. Far too often, short-term rentals turn into “party houses” for the weekend, causing noise and disturbances that seniors can’t escape.

In Pigeon Forge, rampant house parties at short-term rental homes are wreaking havoc on once-peaceful, rural neighborhoods. When your top priority is visiting with your family or grandchildren, the last thing you want to do is feel trapped or unsafe in your own community due to the volatility of short-term rental visitors.

Elderly community members, who often live alone, deserve to feel safe in their neighborhood. But short-term rentals are diminishing that security, leaving seniors feeling vulnerable.

The problems stemming from unregulated short-term rentals are clear. The lack of oversight of short-term rentals is gradually tearing at the fabric of our communities, and senior citizens often take the hardest personal and financial hit.

As commercial investors continue to rapidly buy up residential homes to convert them into short-term rentals, the promise of a secure, familiar neighborhood to retire in becomes further out of reach.

Tennessee residents deserve better; they deserve stability, privacy and affordability in their neighborhoods, which is why it’s so important that local government leaders – who are most familiar with the needs of their constituents – have the power to regulate housing.

Saul Anuzis is the president of the 60 PLUS Association and American Association of Senior Citizens. 

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How older Americans benefit from locally regulated short-term rentals