Across the United States and around the world, cities that once welcomed or loosely regulated short-term rentals are now reversing course after experiencing significant unintended consequences. Communities are increasingly finding that STRs contribute to housing shortages, rising rental costs, neighborhood instability, parking problems, noise complaints, and a declining quality of life for permanent residents.

Major cities including Barcelona, New York City, New Orleans, San Francisco, Santa Monica, Montreal, Paris, London, and Berlin have enacted strict regulations — or in some cases outright bans — after witnessing the effects of short-term rentals on housing availability and neighborhood character.

Barcelona has announced plans to eliminate thousands of tourist rental licenses in an effort to restore housing access for residents. New York City’s 2023 regulations effectively prohibit most short-term rental operations unless the host is present. Other cities, including New Orleans, Santa Monica, and San Francisco, have likewise imposed significant restrictions after finding that residential neighborhoods were increasingly being converted into commercial lodging areas.

This trend is not limited to large metropolitan areas. Smaller towns across America are also reevaluating their policies after facing many of the same challenges.

The pattern is remarkably consistent:

• Short-term rentals reduce the supply of long-term housing.
• Housing prices and rents increase for local residents.
• Neighborhood stability and community connections decline.
• Noise, parking, and nuisance complaints increase.
• Enforcement and public safety concerns become more difficult to manage.
• Residential neighborhoods gradually take on the character of commercial lodging districts.

Orem has long been known as a family-oriented community built upon stable neighborhoods, long-term residents, and strong community connections. At a time when housing affordability is already a growing concern along the Wasatch Front, many residents are understandably worried about proposals that would legalize or expand short-term rentals and potentially reduce housing availability or alter the character of our neighborhoods.

This raises an important question for our elected officials: Have we thoroughly examined the experiences of other cities before changing Orem’s current prohibition on short-term rentals and moving toward a policy that many communities are now working to reverse?

If city leaders believe legalizing or expanding short-term rentals will benefit Orem, residents deserve to understand the evidence supporting that conclusion. What specific benefits will outweigh the documented risks? How will Orem avoid the housing, enforcement, and neighborhood challenges that have prompted so many other cities to impose restrictions?

These are not partisan questions. They are questions of good governance, responsible planning, and protecting the quality of life that has made Orem such a desirable place to live.

I encourage the Orem City Council to openly share its research, assumptions, and reasoning with the public before making a decision that could have lasting consequences for Orem’s neighborhoods and housing market. Residents deserve a clear explanation of why Orem’s outcome would be different from the experiences of so many other communities.

Before changing a policy that currently protects residential neighborhoods from commercial short-term lodging operations, city leaders should clearly demonstrate why such a change is necessary and how the potential risks will be addressed.

The future character of our neighborhoods deserves nothing less than a careful, transparent, and well-informed discussion.

Amy Green is an Orem resident.