Not surprisingly, many cities are trying to regulate short-term rentals (aka AirBNB and their “hosts”).
Supposedly, it’s to preserve neighborhoods, but the regulations often seem they are a means to ensure the revenue of the city. (And, let us not forget that the “Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development” [a long-time DC coalition] claims that short-term rentals prove to have little effect on the overall housing market.) But, these laws also serve as a means to placate labor unions and hotel owners (and hotel management firms), who will lose clout and money to these short-term rentals. (Note: Marriott is one hotelier that is now in the short-term rental business!)
As an example, let’s look at what the District of Columbia has been doing in this arena.
Some 10 months ago, DC passed a law, DC Law 22-307, purportedly to maintain neighborhoods and visitor safety. (Admittedly, DC plans to impose the most stringent rules in America applying to short-term rentals.) For example, it is illegal in DC to rent out a second home as a short-term rental or to use spare rooms and/or basements for more than 90 days per year, should the host not also be present in that specific abode.
The law also stipulates that there must be a valid basic business license (which provides a two-year duration), one that denotes a ‘Short-Term Rental’ endorsement. Plus “any other license” required by law. (Hmm. Do you have an idea what they may be?) And, supposedly, anyone who wants to rent their house when they are away needs to have a “Vacation Rental” endorsement on that license. (But, as we saw above, that doesn’t work for more than 90 days.) Just so you know, that probably also applies to vacation swaps- where one lets a Jerusalem resident (or any other location in the world) stay in your DC home while we stay in theirs!
But, while a law has been passed, nary a regulation as to how to comply with said law has been issued. Part of the problem was the DC Zoning commission had to develop the rules that would apply for short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods. (That was finally completed on UN Day this year. [What? You don’t know when that is? The 24th of October!])
Even so, other than knowing that fines up to $ 6,000 (first offense- $ 500, second- $ 2000, third- $ 6000) can be “awarded”, homeowner and AirBNB hosts have no idea when the restrictions come into play or how one can apply for the licenses that are now required. Right now, some 9000 ‘non-hotel hoteliers’ are lost in the DC ethers.
Oh, wait. There may actually be an answer. (Yeah, right.) DC promises to effect an implementation measure”in the coming days”. At that time, the 90 day grace period will begin before the city will enforce the law it wrote a year ago.
But, still, not a peep as to how, when, or where one can obtain that necessary license.
Why would that be? Because the DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA)- the agency that will regulate the rentals- has not hired anyone to implement the law nor developed any rule-making procedures.
And, AirBNB avers that it could take them some 6 months from the date the regulations are issued to be able to post the license on their site that the homeowner is required to possess. Hmm. That seems to be 3 months AFTER the DC government plans to enforce the regulations they have yet to issue.
One would think after taking a year and then some to come up with regulations, the DC officials would be smart enough to decide to wait 6 months to enforce whatever regs they developed. And, that assumes no one will contest the regs once they are issued!
My DC clients are still waiting for me to provide them guidance. As you can see, there isn’t much I can share with them yet.
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