Post by High Priestess on Oct 10, 2015 5:11:00 GMT
Mark shared in October 2015
Las Vegas area --- City Cleaning UP
From what we've been told, there was a person who filed a complaint to 100 AirBnB rentals. Eight were in our area and we have to cease and desist all operations ASAP. Let me know if you guys got any notifications.
Fred:
We got notified. what are we supposed to do?
Mark:
Make sure you have all 3 licenses up. If you don't, it will be hard to get this in place. We are shutting down operations on the 6th before our inspection. Good luck.
Anne:
Where do I apply for long and short term license?
Tony:
How did the city get the addresses and what did the letter say?
Mark:
The only thing that comes to mind is that one host who wanted to bring awareness to AirBnB and talked to ______ and since then its been nothing but bad news. It behooves AirBnB to step in and work with the city otherwise they'll loose a major source of revenue. They typically dont do anything until it hurts their pocket book.
Mark:
I don't have the letter in front of me. I manage it and the landlord owns the property. All I know is what he told me. It was a Cease and Desist on 100 hosts, 8 in our area, and that our re-inspection is Oct. 7th. From what we were told, there was a complaint filed months ago and they used the site to narrow down the addresses. From there, the city got involved and got the addresses and notified the owners.
No ones address is public unless they booked. I get that. From my experience, AirBnB pretty much just helped us shut down. I had around 4K in future bookings which I will not get anymore and all they basically did was cancel the reservations on their end. Our property has never had a bad guest ever that would've caused us to be noticed. Good luck to you all and just make sure you have everything in place.
Belinda:
Are those addresses in the City of Las Vegas or Unincorporated as well does anyone know?
Fred:
i talked to code enforcement and we just had to switch our listing to say we book only 31 days or longer. which is fine, cause we usually only do longer term people anyways. but it sucks cause now it will be very difficult for people to find us in the search results.
now i guess the people with 70+ hotel room rentals (rolling eyes) at the wyndam will get all the traffic...
i also talked to business licensing and it is actually a lot more convoluted process than you can imagine as far as the process goes.
Anne:
What are those 3 licenses needed?
Mark:
Business License, a Long Term Residential Permit, and a Short Term Residential Permit.
Steven:
I got the letter too.
I'm fairly certain one of my neighbors reported everyone in our hood (which wasn't a lot but there is ONE house that is the "Party house") The neighborhood Facebook rant stirred up a lot of back and forth drama between neighbors that think it's perfectly fine and other neighbors that think what happens at the "party house" happens at all Air BNB locations.
Tony:
Most times a party house isn't an AirBnB house. I believe they are grouping everyone into one category.
Mark:
Here is what we found out. Out of the 300 in Las Vegas, 100 were served within the City Limits. Unfortunately for us, we just had to bite the Cease and Desist due to things the owner needs to address with the rental. Also, short term permits are very had to get approved within the city limits. One assumption we are thinking of is a major casino group hired some people to investigate AirBnBs here. We are costing them revenue after all. Considering the 100 reported short term rentals, I see a point to it. 8 of them are around our area. Not sure if we will return as a more long term rental but for now we have officially shut the studio down until further notice. Hope you guys find a way to get around this issue.
Dana:
I was speaking to a real estate friend of mine. Here is what she feels is going down. If you are in the city yes you are going to have issues. County is too busy and under staffed to deal with this unless you have a direct complaint filed against you by a neighbor, then they have a duty to see what is going on.
Keep it cool, keep the neighbors happy, don't advertise to the neighbors your business (because it's none of theirs and if you have a future issue with them about anything well you have given them ammo to come after you), don't open your home to events on Airbnb and if you are in the county you will be ok. Hope this helps....
Barbara:
Do not forget you have to add to every reservation and pay to authorities 12% room tax in City of Las Vegas and Unincorporated Clark County ( it is called transient lodging tax). They can get records from Airbnb and charge you all of that plus penalty for few years back of activity. I know property had $27,000 fine and Clark County put lien on it, owner had to sell it to pay off the fine.
Mark:
Cease and Desist
Have any of you guys been through this? Apparently someone complained with the city about our rental and we have an Oct. 7th inspection. We are trying to see if we can extend it so we can honor our bookings but this is something that can affect all of us. We have all the licenses other than short term ones and we were about to get it to cover ourselves but someone complained before we got to it. What is your experience?
Tony:
If you're in the city (not unincorporated clark county) and don't have the transient rental license, you are at their mercy. Please keep us up to date on what happens with the inspection and any fines.
Anne:
so there isn't an issue in unincorporated only in the city??
Mark:
I was told by Clark County zoning reps that there is no legal way to live in unincorporated clark county in a residential zoned property and have transient renters. The only jurisdiction that makes it *possible* is Las Vegas City. Carlo must live in the city, but since he didn't have all his licenses, he's being shut down.
Mark:
Yes, we are in the City limits. I was managing the property for our landlord and he told me everything was legit other than the short term permit which I was harping about months ago. He could've saved himself and me trouble if he did what eh needed to do. I was sad for my guests since they had to find other accommodations as I had 4K in bookings pending. Oh well.
Tanya:
What proof do they have ? The Airbnb listing, with no address? No receipts showing that you got paid. If they are still going to inspect they only want to see what business is being conducted (if there is any). What is the tenor of the notice? I suggest you change your profile and advertisement in Airbnb. Let me know how it goes.
Fred:
we got a notice. i wrote to airbnb asking them to help setup the occupancy tax like they have in san francisco and portland. but like usual with airbnb - nothing has happened.
Mark:
From what we gathered, 100 of AirBnBs were filed with a complaint. I notified AirBnB and we are in the process of shutting it down. We needed 3 license and we had 2 and was working on the 3rd one. But this complaint will make the issuance a hard thing to get. Make sure you have all 3 in place before this happens to you. Had to cancel about 4K in bookings due to this issue. Good luck everyone.
Louise:
Mark, I'm sorry to read of your troubles. I'm not hosting in Vegas yet, but am considering it, maybe in the next year.
I've done some reading, but it can be difficult to sort through all the info sometimes. Would you mind sharing the 3 licenses required?
Do you think you'll be back to hosting once you get the third?
Louise:
BTW, your listing is lovely.
Tony:
If someone complained do you believe it was a person who stayed with you and found out your address?
Mark:
I don't think it was a guest. Louise - a Business License, a Long Term Residential Permit, and a Short Term Residential Permit.
Louise:
Thanks Mark! All of these are arranged through the city? I'm assuming a registration through the NV DOR, as well.
Mark:
We handled the issue with City Planning. We are out starting the 6th since it opened up a can of worms. So good luck to you guys and do not get screwed by not having all permits and licenses in place.
Anee:
I'm so sorry Mark-
Las Vegas area --- City Cleaning UP
From what we've been told, there was a person who filed a complaint to 100 AirBnB rentals. Eight were in our area and we have to cease and desist all operations ASAP. Let me know if you guys got any notifications.
Fred:
We got notified. what are we supposed to do?
Mark:
Make sure you have all 3 licenses up. If you don't, it will be hard to get this in place. We are shutting down operations on the 6th before our inspection. Good luck.
Anne:
Where do I apply for long and short term license?
Tony:
How did the city get the addresses and what did the letter say?
Mark:
The only thing that comes to mind is that one host who wanted to bring awareness to AirBnB and talked to ______ and since then its been nothing but bad news. It behooves AirBnB to step in and work with the city otherwise they'll loose a major source of revenue. They typically dont do anything until it hurts their pocket book.
Mark:
I don't have the letter in front of me. I manage it and the landlord owns the property. All I know is what he told me. It was a Cease and Desist on 100 hosts, 8 in our area, and that our re-inspection is Oct. 7th. From what we were told, there was a complaint filed months ago and they used the site to narrow down the addresses. From there, the city got involved and got the addresses and notified the owners.
No ones address is public unless they booked. I get that. From my experience, AirBnB pretty much just helped us shut down. I had around 4K in future bookings which I will not get anymore and all they basically did was cancel the reservations on their end. Our property has never had a bad guest ever that would've caused us to be noticed. Good luck to you all and just make sure you have everything in place.
Belinda:
Are those addresses in the City of Las Vegas or Unincorporated as well does anyone know?
Fred:
i talked to code enforcement and we just had to switch our listing to say we book only 31 days or longer. which is fine, cause we usually only do longer term people anyways. but it sucks cause now it will be very difficult for people to find us in the search results.
now i guess the people with 70+ hotel room rentals (rolling eyes) at the wyndam will get all the traffic...
i also talked to business licensing and it is actually a lot more convoluted process than you can imagine as far as the process goes.
Anne:
What are those 3 licenses needed?
Mark:
Business License, a Long Term Residential Permit, and a Short Term Residential Permit.
Steven:
I got the letter too.
I'm fairly certain one of my neighbors reported everyone in our hood (which wasn't a lot but there is ONE house that is the "Party house") The neighborhood Facebook rant stirred up a lot of back and forth drama between neighbors that think it's perfectly fine and other neighbors that think what happens at the "party house" happens at all Air BNB locations.
Tony:
Most times a party house isn't an AirBnB house. I believe they are grouping everyone into one category.
Mark:
Here is what we found out. Out of the 300 in Las Vegas, 100 were served within the City Limits. Unfortunately for us, we just had to bite the Cease and Desist due to things the owner needs to address with the rental. Also, short term permits are very had to get approved within the city limits. One assumption we are thinking of is a major casino group hired some people to investigate AirBnBs here. We are costing them revenue after all. Considering the 100 reported short term rentals, I see a point to it. 8 of them are around our area. Not sure if we will return as a more long term rental but for now we have officially shut the studio down until further notice. Hope you guys find a way to get around this issue.
Dana:
I was speaking to a real estate friend of mine. Here is what she feels is going down. If you are in the city yes you are going to have issues. County is too busy and under staffed to deal with this unless you have a direct complaint filed against you by a neighbor, then they have a duty to see what is going on.
Keep it cool, keep the neighbors happy, don't advertise to the neighbors your business (because it's none of theirs and if you have a future issue with them about anything well you have given them ammo to come after you), don't open your home to events on Airbnb and if you are in the county you will be ok. Hope this helps....
Barbara:
Do not forget you have to add to every reservation and pay to authorities 12% room tax in City of Las Vegas and Unincorporated Clark County ( it is called transient lodging tax). They can get records from Airbnb and charge you all of that plus penalty for few years back of activity. I know property had $27,000 fine and Clark County put lien on it, owner had to sell it to pay off the fine.
Mark:
Cease and Desist
Have any of you guys been through this? Apparently someone complained with the city about our rental and we have an Oct. 7th inspection. We are trying to see if we can extend it so we can honor our bookings but this is something that can affect all of us. We have all the licenses other than short term ones and we were about to get it to cover ourselves but someone complained before we got to it. What is your experience?
Tony:
If you're in the city (not unincorporated clark county) and don't have the transient rental license, you are at their mercy. Please keep us up to date on what happens with the inspection and any fines.
Anne:
so there isn't an issue in unincorporated only in the city??
Mark:
I was told by Clark County zoning reps that there is no legal way to live in unincorporated clark county in a residential zoned property and have transient renters. The only jurisdiction that makes it *possible* is Las Vegas City. Carlo must live in the city, but since he didn't have all his licenses, he's being shut down.
Mark:
Yes, we are in the City limits. I was managing the property for our landlord and he told me everything was legit other than the short term permit which I was harping about months ago. He could've saved himself and me trouble if he did what eh needed to do. I was sad for my guests since they had to find other accommodations as I had 4K in bookings pending. Oh well.
Tanya:
What proof do they have ? The Airbnb listing, with no address? No receipts showing that you got paid. If they are still going to inspect they only want to see what business is being conducted (if there is any). What is the tenor of the notice? I suggest you change your profile and advertisement in Airbnb. Let me know how it goes.
Fred:
we got a notice. i wrote to airbnb asking them to help setup the occupancy tax like they have in san francisco and portland. but like usual with airbnb - nothing has happened.
Mark:
From what we gathered, 100 of AirBnBs were filed with a complaint. I notified AirBnB and we are in the process of shutting it down. We needed 3 license and we had 2 and was working on the 3rd one. But this complaint will make the issuance a hard thing to get. Make sure you have all 3 in place before this happens to you. Had to cancel about 4K in bookings due to this issue. Good luck everyone.
Louise:
Mark, I'm sorry to read of your troubles. I'm not hosting in Vegas yet, but am considering it, maybe in the next year.
I've done some reading, but it can be difficult to sort through all the info sometimes. Would you mind sharing the 3 licenses required?
Do you think you'll be back to hosting once you get the third?
Louise:
BTW, your listing is lovely.
Tony:
If someone complained do you believe it was a person who stayed with you and found out your address?
Mark:
I don't think it was a guest. Louise - a Business License, a Long Term Residential Permit, and a Short Term Residential Permit.
Louise:
Thanks Mark! All of these are arranged through the city? I'm assuming a registration through the NV DOR, as well.
Mark:
We handled the issue with City Planning. We are out starting the 6th since it opened up a can of worms. So good luck to you guys and do not get screwed by not having all permits and licenses in place.
Anee:
I'm so sorry Mark-