|
steps you will have the sense that you need to
<br />do six things at once. You do. One way to get a
<br />grip on it is take a "planning pause" moratorium
<br />on all STRs for, say, six months, during which
<br />time no one can rent. However, given that the
<br />number of such rentals in many places is still
<br />relatively small, it is unlikely that much harm
<br />will come from letting them continue on while
<br />you plan and prepare to regulate. It may not be
<br />worth the effort to have a moratorium. A morato-
<br />rium takes time—for drafting, maybe some legal
<br />advice, and the expenditure of political capital
<br />in most cases—and may cause some pushback
<br />from those already renting, all of which may cost
<br />more than the planning pause is worth. Morato-
<br />ria sometimes serve only to delay the inevitable
<br />hard work and are often extended. Back to Ben
<br />Franklin: "Don't put off until tomorrow what you
<br />can do today."
<br />Education
<br />Learn what is available out there now by going
<br />to alt of the websites and services that you can
<br />find, most of which are identified here. Look
<br />online to see what STRs are being offered in your
<br />community. You may be surprised at how many
<br />of your friends and neighbors are already in the
<br />STR business. Don't forget to check Craigslist
<br />as well, and use an online search engine, such
<br />as Google, with a few key terms, like "rentals
<br />Anytown" and "house -sharing Anytown," to find
<br />other STR activity.
<br />Conduct educational sessions in your com-
<br />munity ("Everything You Need To Know About
<br />Short -Term Rentals") even before trying to regu-
<br />late, to sensitize present and potential hosts
<br />to the need for proper code compliance, fire
<br />prevention, emergency response, following rules
<br />for rent controlled units, first aid, protecting
<br />privacy (e.g., disclosing security cameras), insur-
<br />ance coverage, parking, noise, smoking, pets,
<br />childproofing, operation of heating and ventilat-
<br />ing systems (including fireplaces and heating
<br />stoves), safe access, occupancy limits, deciding
<br />what to tell neighbors, home owners association
<br />approval, tax obligations, and any required zon-
<br />ing approvals. These sessions may also provide
<br />an opportunity to learn who is renting and to
<br />connect with them. Consider establishing a
<br />section of your municipal website as a resource
<br />portal. You will not have all the answers to all
<br />the questions as you start, but you need to start.
<br />Planning
<br />Yes, planning. The rational planning model in
<br />its simplest terms is what do you have, what do
<br />you want, and how do you get it. You need to
<br />know who is renting and what is being rented to
<br />whom for how long. You need to determine what
<br />you may expect in the future. What do you think
<br />the demand is for STRs, in what mix of accom-
<br />modations, and for what length of tenancy? This
<br />will prove useful to deciding whether you need
<br />to limit the number of units available for STR
<br />and to regulate the length of occupancy.
<br />Regulate
<br />Regulation probably will come in two forms:
<br />licensing of individual hosts to insure code com-
<br />pliance and general regulation (either through
<br />zoning or licensing standards) as to location,
<br />number of units, and terms of tenancy. You will
<br />have to draw the line somewhere as to what is
<br />an STR and what is simply an unregulated rental.
<br />Conduct educational
<br />sessions in your
<br />community even before
<br />trying to regulate, to
<br />sensitize present and
<br />potential hosts to the
<br />need for proper code
<br />compliance.
<br />Is an STR a rental of less than 3o days or 90
<br />days, or some other somewhat arbitrary number
<br />of days, and everything else is just an unregu-
<br />lated rental? It is for you to decide. You will also
<br />want to consider whether owner -occupied STRs
<br />might be regulated less strictly, given that the
<br />owner is present during the STR.
<br />Austin, Texas, has a robust program with
<br />licensing. They carve out three types of STRs:
<br />owner -occupied single-family, multifamily, or
<br />duplex units (Type 1); single-family or duplex
<br />units that are not owner occupied (Type 2); and
<br />multifamily units that are not owner occupied
<br />(Type 3). There is a three percent limit by census
<br />tract on the Type 2 single-family and duplex
<br />STRs, a three percent limit per property on Type
<br />3 STRs in any noncommercial zoning district,
<br />and a 25 percent limit per property on Type 3
<br />STRs in any commercial zoning district. Howev-
<br />er, each multifamily property is allowed at least
<br />one Type 3 STR, regardless of these limits.
<br />Austin has separate application forms for
<br />Type 1 primary, secondary, and partial STRs.
<br />All of these forms include owner and property
<br />identification information as well as insurance
<br />information, number of sleeping rooms, occu-
<br />pancy limit, and average charge per structure. To
<br />qualify as a Type 1 primary STR, the unit must be
<br />owner occupied at least 51 percent of the time
<br />and can only be rented out in its entirety and for
<br />periods of 3o days or less. To qualify as a Type 2
<br />secondary STR, the unit must be accessory to an
<br />owner -occupied principal residence and can only
<br />be rented out in its entirety and for periods of 3o
<br />days or less. To qualify as a Type 1 partial unit,
<br />namely a room rental, the unit must provide ex-
<br />clusive use of a sleeping room and shared bath-
<br />room access. Only one partial unit can be rented
<br />out at a time, to a single party of individuals, and
<br />for periods of 3o days or less. Owners must be
<br />present for the duration of the rental.
<br />The annual licensing fee for STRs in Austin
<br />is $235. Applicants must also pay a one-time
<br />notification fee of $5o.
<br />Of course, as with all regulation there
<br />are those with schemes to beat the regulation.
<br />There are sites online that advise potential
<br />STR hosts to avoid posting on Craigslist, use
<br />Airbnb's community and social features to
<br />screen the reservations (presumably to avoid
<br />enforcement types), "hide your home" by using
<br />Airbnb's public view that only shows a large
<br />circle within which the unit is located, use word
<br />of mouth (or social networking sites) to rent the
<br />unit, and "get lost in the crowd" in that there are
<br />thousands of listings in large places like Austin
<br />(but not in the rural counties, suburbs, and
<br />small towns). This advice to those interested in
<br />breaking the law suggests that it will not always
<br />be easy for code enforcement to find the STRs.
<br />Perhaps some notice to all property owners,
<br />maybe a note with the tax bill, telling them of
<br />the need to register would help. Free, simple,
<br />online registration might increase compliance.
<br />The critical issue is life safety—you need to find
<br />all of these STRs to make sure they are safe.
<br />San Francisco has an Office of Short -Term
<br />Rental, and in 2014 the city adopted major
<br />revisions to its planning codes for STRs. Those
<br />amendments include some useful definitions of
<br />hosting platform, primary residence, residential
<br />unit, short-term residential rental, and tourist
<br />or transient use. The code requires registration,
<br />occupancy of the unit by the owner not less than
<br />275 days a year, maintenance of records for two
<br />years, certain insurance coverage, payment of
<br />transient occupancy taxes, compliance with the
<br />ZONINGPRACTICE 10.15
<br />AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION Ipage5
<br />
|