Post by High Priestess on Apr 21, 2019 13:38:16 GMT
The city of Monterey is taking an aggressive approach to short term rentals:
www.eastbaytimes.com/2019/04/20/monterey-takes-aggressive-stand-against-short-term-rentals/
From the article:
The short-term rental industry in Monterey consists largely of owners of second or third homes renting out the houses for vacationers and others for a price they could never charge long-term renters. Rental housing in the city is in short supply, and elected officials saw short-term rentals as one of a number of practices contributing to the shortage.
The problem with the ban on rentals of less than 30 days, from the perspective of Monterey Bay Renters United, a loosely knit coalition of activists pushing for renters’ rights and more affordable housing, is that these homeowners tend to work around the ban. The city defines short-term rentals as anything 30 days and less.
“(Homeowners) just rent it out for 31 days,” said Karen McBribe, one of the founders of Renters United who added that they are supportive of the city’s effort to rein in out-of-town owners who are violating the ordinance.
[Note: well come on, if the law allows rentals over 30 days, what's wrong with renting for 31 days? You have to draw the line somewhere and that is where it is drawn. Some in these tenant groups I think will not be happy until control over rentals is completely removed from the owner and given to the government]
The 30-day definition of short-term rentals is spelled out in the city charter.
The ban on short-term rentals dates back to the early 1990s when voters passed an amendment that prohibited any additional hotels from being built, said Elizabeth Caraker, the housing and community development manager for the city. That’s when absentee homeowners began renting out their houses to visitors for less than 30 days to fill the vacuum.
Fast forward to roughly 2012 when the city started receiving complaints from neighbors about noise and other nuisances coming from rented-out homes.
“That’s when we started sting operations,” Caraker said.
A code enforcement officer would book a room from Airbnb or the like, for less than 30 days, and as soon as payment was made it generated a letter informing the owners that they had 10 days to cease the operation or face a $1,000 fine.
“But that became a very lengthy, cumbersome process,” Caraker said. “Not to mention the effect on credit cards.”
By 2017 the city realized the current system of enforcement of STR ban was not sustainable, so they took a different direction targeting advertising. The city passed an ordinance banning companies like Airbnb and Vrbo from advertising places that were in violation of the ordinance. Monterey contracted with a software developer to streamline the process.
www.eastbaytimes.com/2019/04/20/monterey-takes-aggressive-stand-against-short-term-rentals/
From the article:
The short-term rental industry in Monterey consists largely of owners of second or third homes renting out the houses for vacationers and others for a price they could never charge long-term renters. Rental housing in the city is in short supply, and elected officials saw short-term rentals as one of a number of practices contributing to the shortage.
The problem with the ban on rentals of less than 30 days, from the perspective of Monterey Bay Renters United, a loosely knit coalition of activists pushing for renters’ rights and more affordable housing, is that these homeowners tend to work around the ban. The city defines short-term rentals as anything 30 days and less.
“(Homeowners) just rent it out for 31 days,” said Karen McBribe, one of the founders of Renters United who added that they are supportive of the city’s effort to rein in out-of-town owners who are violating the ordinance.
[Note: well come on, if the law allows rentals over 30 days, what's wrong with renting for 31 days? You have to draw the line somewhere and that is where it is drawn. Some in these tenant groups I think will not be happy until control over rentals is completely removed from the owner and given to the government]
The 30-day definition of short-term rentals is spelled out in the city charter.
The ban on short-term rentals dates back to the early 1990s when voters passed an amendment that prohibited any additional hotels from being built, said Elizabeth Caraker, the housing and community development manager for the city. That’s when absentee homeowners began renting out their houses to visitors for less than 30 days to fill the vacuum.
Fast forward to roughly 2012 when the city started receiving complaints from neighbors about noise and other nuisances coming from rented-out homes.
“That’s when we started sting operations,” Caraker said.
A code enforcement officer would book a room from Airbnb or the like, for less than 30 days, and as soon as payment was made it generated a letter informing the owners that they had 10 days to cease the operation or face a $1,000 fine.
“But that became a very lengthy, cumbersome process,” Caraker said. “Not to mention the effect on credit cards.”
By 2017 the city realized the current system of enforcement of STR ban was not sustainable, so they took a different direction targeting advertising. The city passed an ordinance banning companies like Airbnb and Vrbo from advertising places that were in violation of the ordinance. Monterey contracted with a software developer to streamline the process.