To the Editor:

The Reporter recently ran a story saying that residents in Pope’s Hill aren’t concerned about the rise of overnight apartment-and-home rentals (“Pope Hill neighbors hear about short term rentals, new housing pitch”). Perhaps the speaker from Neighbors for Neighborhood Oversight failed to explain the problems and risks associated with growth in this industry in our neighborhoods.

At the present time, these overnight rentals are completely unregulated. The city of Boston is not noting, registering, or inspecting apartments or homes that are essentially being rented out like independent hotels in our neighborhoods. There are no background checks for people renting out their homes or apartments or even spare bedrooms. Other businesses in the “sharing economy” like Uber and Lyft are at least are doing background checks on their drivers!

The lack of inspections by the city also means there are no checks for egress, or sprinklers, or even smoke detectors, meaning that guests could be in danger. Those are reasons I don’t use these services myself, but the threats to me exist even when I’m not signing the contract. This industry doesn’t check the people renting the apartments to ensure they are not sex offenders – despite the fact that they could be renting different apartments throughout Dorchester’s neighborhoods on a nightly basis.

As a female resident of Columbia-Savin Hill, I take great effort to guard my personal safety and worry that this model does little to keep me safe. I can’t imagine the stress this would cause parents of young children who live in our community.

But maybe the biggest concern is the potential for these companies to change our neighborhoods. The largest overnight rental company, Airbnb, is now valued at $10 billion, and last week it reported that Boston apartments fetch its highest nightly prices. As investors see those numbers, they will start buying more and more Dorchester three-deckers and apartment buildings to use as unlicensed hotels, replacing our neighbors with strangers night after night. A major reason I chose to live in Dorchester over other areas of Boston was to be part of a vibrant, engaged neighborhood.

We live in a community. Turning it into a hotel district will take the heart out of our homes. There are already plenty of hotels in Boston – we don’t need them on every block of our city. I hope the mayor’s office and the City Council will take steps early next year to regulate these companies.

Meg Reilly
Dorchester