This Seattle Home-Sharer Wants His Property Rights Back

June 24, 2019

Seattle entrepreneur Andy Morris had his property rights taken away—and the Goldwater Institute was in court last week to try to get them back.

Andy and his wife, Lynne, own Seattle Vacation Home, LLC, a local business that operates several properties around the city and rents some of them as short-term rentals through online platforms. These properties routinely receive high marks from renters, and over the course of more than 2,500 bookings, the properties have received just a handful of noise complaints. By any definition, Andy is a responsible home-sharer.

But the city of Seattle has imposed a set of restrictions that make it difficult for someone to operate a home-sharing business, harming local entrepreneurs like Andy who have been operating in the city for years without incident. Under these regulations, someone can only rent out their primary residence plus two additional properties. If an individual, or business, owns more than three properties, they will be prohibited from using them for short-term rentals. Home-sharing provides a living for Andy and Lynne—and the city shouldn’t be punishing them for simply exercising their property rights.

Last week, Goldwater Institute Senior Attorney Matt Miller joined Andy in court to challenge the city’s cap on home-sharing licenses before a trial court judge. Andy joined KGMI Morning News in Washington to talk about the latest in his case and how Seattle’s law is unfairly taking away his right to share his properties with overnight guests.

You can listen to Andy’s full appearance above.