Planning Commission October 21, 2015 9/29/2015 Re: Airbnb, Short-term … · 2015. 10. 21. · October 21, 2015. 9/29/2015 . From: Cyn Wang . Re: Airbnb, Short-term Rental Best Practices - [PDF Document] (2024)

9/29/2015

From: Cyn Wang

Re: Airbnb, Short-term Rental Best Practices

Overview

Throughout California, Airbnb has been changing the way people travel by empowering guests to

experience tourism more authentically and from a local’s perspective. Airbnb hosts stay longer and spend

more in diverse neighborhoods when they travel.

As a result, we have seen positive economic impacts in cities that have not benefited from tourism in the

past and have enabled our hosts to use their home as an asset to pay bills and make ends meet.

Recently, many cities across the United States have looked into ways of changing the outdated laws that

were created before home sharing existed and make way for the new economy. Below is a list of cities

that have taken the lead in adopting clear and effective rules to allow home sharing in their communities. San Jose

Last December (2014), the City of San Jose adopted comprehensive home sharing/short term rental

regulations. The new rules allow primary residents of any housing type to engage in short term rentals for

up to 180 days if they are not physically present during the rental (unhosted), or without limitation if they

share a portion of their residence while they are physically present (hosted). The Council amended the

zoning code to authorize ‘incidental transient occupancy’ as an allowed use in one­family, two­family or

multiple family dwellings, mobile homes, live/work units, secondary dwellings and guest houses.

The Council imposed a set of performance criteria to provide clear rules to residents and regulators, and

plans to monitor and report back on implementation within 18 months of adoption. Highlights of these

performance standards include:

Occupancy limitations for dwellings based on size

Numerical caps on annual number of nights (180 days per calendar year ­ no host present. 365

days per calendar year with host present)

Parking requirements by dwelling type

TOT collection/remittance requirements

Recordkeeping requirements for hosts/operators

The Council focused on developing rules which were simple for residents to follow, that provide recourse

for residents and community members in case of nuisances, and that did not require the City to establish

a new enforcement bureaucracy due to minimal evidence of actual community concerns or complaints.

Communications Planning Commission

October 21, 2015

Page 2

Philadelphia

Earlier this year, Philadelphia passed new short term rental laws that legalized home sharing

in the city. Philadelphia's ordinance allows anyone to rent for up to 90 days without any

requirement for a permit, license, or registration. Primary residents who own their home, as

well as renters who get permission from their landlord, can host for more than 90 days by

applying for a permit. All rentals are limited to 180 days per year, and payment of transient

occupancy tax is required.

Malibu

Malibu’s policy is to allow owners to rent their homes without limitation for short term rentals.

Because Airbnb collects and remits transient occupancy tax on behalf of its hosts in Malibu,

its hosts are neither required to register nor separately remit these taxes. The city relies on

the existing code enforcement ordinance to abate public nuisances regardless of rental status.

Non­Airbnb­related short­term rental operators must register and collect and remit taxes to

the city.

South Lake Tahoe

South Lake Tahoe authorizes both primary­resident home sharing and dedicated vacation

rentals. It imposes no caps on maximum numbers for short term rentals, including vacation

rentals, and operators are required to purchase an annual permit and pay transient occupancy

tax. The local law imposes a higher standard for vacation rentals: notification of surrounding

residents and inspection are required. Operators must also provide a 24/7 point­of­contact

during times of rental, and the use of hot tubs and amplified music is prohibited between the

hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. (South Lake Tahoe Municipal Code, Chapter 3.50).

Other City laws

Many other cities have proposed or adopted regulations for short term rentals. Last year, San Francisco and Portland both adopted home sharing regulations with complex individual permit requirements and public registries that have been the focus of significant public discourse. Advocates and regulators continue discussing low permit utilization rates and iterating reforms to streamline the process. San Francisco's law authorizes primary residents (owners or occupants) to share their homes for up to 90 days (un­hosted) and without limit (hosted). Portland similarly allows residents up to 90 days or un­hosted rental and unlimited hosted rentals in residentially zoned districts, with unlimited short term rentals allowed in commercially zoned districts.

Additionally, Santa Monica recently adopted complex regulations prohibiting un­hosted rentals entirely and imposing blanket data­sharing rules on internet hosting platforms that raised serious concerns from privacy advocates and the Los Angeles Times editorial board.

Page 3

Sensible STR Regulations that Complement Public Nuisance Prevention and Abatement Cities already have comprehensive public nuisance ordinances with procedures for abating

code violations, regardless of rental status. Additionally, existing municipal code provisions

usually impose enforceable noise restrictions, garbage disposal requirements, and occupancy

limits.

Existing transient occupancy tax (TOT) and business license tax ordinances also generally

contain their own enforcement and penalty procedures.

Successful regulations provide clear, enforceable rules and do not necessitate costly new

enforcement bureaucracies. Some approaches that have helped cities sensibly regulate while

preventing public nuisances include:

Maximum occupancy limits (e.g., two adult guests per bedroom + 1);

Minimum parking space requirements commensurate with number of occupants;

A point of contact available twenty­four (24) hours a day (during periods of rental) to

respond to nuisance complaints;

Prohibition of amplified sound after 10 p.m.;

Progressive fines for repeated code violations within 180 day period (often mirroring

existing code enforcement schemes);

Moving code enforcement divisions from the Building/Land Use Department to Police

or Fire Departments, which have better capacity to respond to after­hours complaints;

Guests prohibited in STRs between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.;

Establishment of after­hours phone number and email address for residents to report

violations; and

Prohibition of residential STRs for commercial events.

From: Murray Bruce [mailto:[emailprotected]] Sent: Thursday, October 08, 2015 6:04 PM To: Planning Dept. Mailbox <[emailprotected]> Subject: share rentals

Dear Planning Commission,

I would like to voice my opinion in favor of being able to rent out part of our home.

My wife and I have lived in Berkeley since 1982. We came so that I could attend the Master of

Architecture program at CAL. In 1985 I graduated and a 1990 we bought a little house not too

far from campus where we have lived ever since and raise our two daughters.

At beginning of the economic down turn both my wife and I lost our jobs. As our daughters are

now adults, and one attending UC Davis, we rented out one of the kids bedrooms to help cover

the mortgage and keep our daughter in college. Initially we posted listings at graduate

departments on the campus and then posted via craigslist and now post via Airbnb. Although my

wife and I are now fully employed we continue to take in tenants as the additional income is

helpful and foresee it being very helpful when we retire which is only a couple of years away.

We have maintained our relationship with Airbnb for many reasons, all of them good. We have

rented to a large number of people over these past few years and one continuing theme is that

many of our tenants are here because of a connection with UC Berkeley either as graduate

students, professors or researchers. Other people stay with us because they are relocating or they

are having a holiday in the area. Whatever the tenants’ reason for the visit we provide them

accommodation that is clean, convenient and secure. We ask that the city continue to permit us

to provide this mutually beneficial service.

Also, we can recall our first visit to Berkeley those many years ago when we were looking for

housing and it was in short supply. There was a booming business in underground rentals and

many were unsavory. It would be a shame for the city to force a return to those standards.

Murray