Toni Hansel, 36, who has been living in the area since she was 4, shares this concern. For the past eight years, she has been cleaning the short-term rental. She often works seven days a week to make ends meet. Still, when it comes to watching her 14-year-old daughter, it’s better than her previous gig as a body piercer, she said.
But last month, he lost what allowed his family to survive on $65 to $150 per cleaning: his $575 a month rent.
In 2014, when she moved into her two-bedroom apartment on the north side of downtown Joshua Tree, there were only a few short-term rentals nearby, but they were in good neighborhoods.
But then investors began to see its neighborhood as a prime housing area. First, as renovators outnumber heavy drug users, “it cleaned up the neighborhood,” she said. But then it turned terrifying as she realized that the families she ran into were gone and that virtually every house was a short-term rental with “the same white, black and grey, glowing fences and fairy lights.”
These were not owned by “a jumble of artists and weirdos” – like his client Mr Giuliano of the Desert Yacht Club. Rather, they seemed to be owned by people who viewed rentals as “easy money”.
In January, Ms Hansel learned that her lease would be terminated in 60 days as her landlord was remodeling. It’s impossible to find a place, she said in February, as she started packing, “because it’s either an Airbnb or it’s three times what I can afford.”
At the last minute, he found a temporary $800 one-bedroom in the landers about 15 miles from Joshua Tree. This is not ideal, Ms Hansel said, noting that her daughter can no longer go to school. But, she added, “we are safe for now.”
