Puerto Rico short-term rentals spike comes at a cost, report finds
Puerto Rico's number of units operating as short-term rentals have jumped sharply, boosting the economy but also displacing renters, raising prices and decreasing housing inventory, a Hispanic Federation Report found.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Activists want stricter regulations of short-term rentals in Puerto Rico as the U.S. territory sees a growing number of displaced renters and a spike in housing costs, the Hispanic Federation said in a report Wednesday.
The number of units operating as short-term rentals in Puerto Rico jumped to more than 25,000 in 2023 from about 1,000 in 2014, the report commissioned by the federation said.
It found that while short-term rentals create jobs, attract visitors and lead to more transportation options, renters have faced evictions, the cost of goods have increased amid an economic crisis and some ecological areas have been destroyed during new construction.
The report calls for creating a public registry of short-term rentals, classifying them as a business and increasing the island’s room tax from 7% to up to 11% and using the additional revenue to develop affordable housing.
“This has gotten to a point where the impacts are really palpable in Puerto Rico,” Charlotte Gossett Navarro, the foundation’s Puerto Rico chief director, said in an interview.
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