San Francisco voters reject Prop F, short-term rental limits

Bay City News
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Airbnb ad against Prop F in San Francisco
There is a low voter turnout expected despite some very controversial ballot measures in San Francisco, such as an Airbnb law.
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SAN FRANCISCO -- With 100 percent of the precincts reporting, San Francisco voters rejected Proposition F with 55 percent of the vote. It would have limited short-term rentals of residential units in the city to 75 nights a year and require Airbnb and other hosting platforms to pull listings that exceed the limit.

Click here to check out all of the election results

Prop F was by far the most high-profile issue on the ballot and needed a simple majority to pass, but had only about 45 percent approval.

San Francisco-based short-term rental company Airbnb fiercely opposed the ballot measure, spending between an estimated $8-10 million campaigning against it.

READ MORE: SF voters reject Prop I, Mission District housing moratorium

Airbnb spokesman Christopher Nulty released a statement from the company about the result, calling it "a decisive victory for the middle class."

"Voters stood up for working class families' right to share their homes and opposed an extreme, hotel industry-backed measure," the statement said.

Proponents of Prop F spent about $300,000 and said the proliferation of short-term rentals is squeezing the city's already tight housing market.

VIDEO: San Francisco to vote on limiting short-term rentals

ABC7 News contributed to this report.