At a press conference Monday, Mayor Paul Soglin criticized proposed state legislation that he said would deregulate lodging apps and drive up housing costs.

Soglin characterized the Right to Rent bill as a hypocritical, as it curbs local control even though the state Legislature is “supposedly” committed to supporting city government. Supporters of the bill said it will help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure and boost the tourism industry in Wisconsin.

The bill would prevent local governments from restricting the ability of landowners to rent out their property.

The mayor has previously spoken out against legislation overriding local ordinances regulating landlord tenant relations and rideshare apps like Uber. In the the case of Right to Rent, Soglin said the bill would increase the cost of housing because property owners can often make more through apps like Airbnb than renting the property at monthly rates.

Under current city ordinances, the city limits the number of days landowners may rent out their housing to 30 days and imposes a lodging tax. He said removing the ordinances would endanger investments in public schools by driving out families from otherwise affordable housing.

In addition to hurting families, Soglin said Airbnb poses a threat to affordable housing for students and pointed to several listings near campus. He said people have also used Airbnb to rent out dorm rooms, but University of Wisconsin housing spokesperson Brendon Dybdahl said there was no evidence of this.

Soglin rebutted claims that deregulating lodging apps would aid the tourism industry.

“We have plenty of hotels in Wisconsin,” Soglin said.

But the Wisconsin Realtors Association, which supports the bill, said in a statement that local ordinances, like Madison’s, prevent less wealthy families from being able to rent lakeside cabins. The WRA said the ordinances would harm these families and ultimately suppress the tourism industry within Wisconsin.

Additionally the WRA said they would harm the market for second homes because owners would be unable to get a return on investment without a source of rental income.

Even with the city’s current ordinances, Soglin said there have been instances where owners have failed to pay rental taxes. In response to this, Soglin said the city is considering hiring a new staff member responsible for tracking Airbnb rentals.

Soglin said he is saddened that he cannot support numerous bills in the Legislature that could impact Madison because city would not benefit from it.

“We’re seeing a trend of interference in local government by a State Legislature, most of whom are conservative, that claims these decisions should be up to local governments,” Soglin said.

Soglin said the bill was scheduled for a vote on Tuesday, but has since disappeared from the schedule.