San Juan legislator seeks to regulate short-term rentals
By The Star Staff
Manuel Calderón Cerame, the Popular Democratic Party spokesman in the San Juan Municipal Assembly, has introduced a measure to create the Code for the Regulation of Short-Term Rentals in the Municipality of San Juan, to address the uncontrolled spread of the industry in the capital.
“Short-term rentals are an important component in San Juan’s tourism industry, but their uncontrolled spread has become a problem for many communities in our city, which is why it is up to us to legislate with due knowledge and in a responsible manner,” Calderón Cerame said Wednesday in a press release.
The municipal legislator added that the main problem he has seen in the aforementioned tourist activity in San Juan is the lack of action by the municipal authorities and the central government by not applying the ordinances and laws that are already on the books. Dozens of incidents have been reported between residents and people who book short-term rentals and behave in an uncontrolled manner, often disturbing the peace in the immediate community.
“My call to the Mayor of San Juan, as well as to my fellow legislators, is to act quickly but with the necessary knowledge to avoid a misfortune, as incidents in communities such as Cupey, El Señorial, Puerto Nuevo, Las Lomas, Hato Rey, El Vedado, Old San Juan, and Condado are increasing,” Calderón Cerame said.
“The purpose of this measure is to create a special commission in the San Juan Municipal Legislature, where in less than 70 days, we can have a piece of legislation that has input from the communities of San Juan, as well as members of this industry of short-term rentals with knowledge of the tourism industry,” he said. “We seek to listen to all of them so that we can then draft a code that guarantees harmony among those who participate in this industry as well as the residents of our communities.”