10A Action Items 2018 0723 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

File #:17-616,Version:1 Aside from existing Municipal Code provisions requiring the collection of transient occupancy taxes at 14% (Chapter 2-10) and the City Council’s decision in March 2017 to prohibit accessory dwelling units (ADUs) from being used as short-term rentals (Ordinance 2017-003, Zoning Code Section 2- 576), San Leandro has not otherwise addressed the topic of short-term rentals. Because short-term rentals have not been expressly enabled in the Zoning Code, they are currently prohibited. The primary interest in regulating short-term rentals relates to nuisance prevention, preserving neighborhood character and housing availability, and ensuring the safety of occupants. Although the City has responded to a few complaints involving known short- term rentals over the past year, the Police Department and Code Enforcement do not maintain statistics partly because officers are usually unable to ascertain of the status of a given rental property when responding. To date, the Police Department has issued four cease and desist letters to property owners engaged in short-term rental activities that were the subject of resident complaints. Current Conditions It is difficult to obtain precise data on the number and availability of short-term rental listings due to the profusion of such websites and that they do not generally share their data. In an informal City staff survey of the best known short-term rental websites such as Airbnb, Widmu, HomeAway, and VRBO, staff noted fewer than 75 available short-term rental properties listed in San Leandro. To put this into context, a recent presentation at a Bay Area Planning Director’s Association meeting from Host Compliance, a short-term rental enforcement consulting firm, identified Oakland as having 2,306 known short-term rental listings, Berkeley with 1,694 listings, and Fremont with 282. These listings can vary widely in activity and duration. A property being listed on a short-term rental website does not necessarily mean that it is being rented frequently. Analysis There is no one-size-fits-all approach to regulating short-term rentals. In a review of other Bay Area cities, staff noted considerable differences in how each city approaches and regulates short-term rentals. What was noted is that each cities’ approach reflects the needs and situation of their individual communities. For example, cities that prioritize housing availability like San Francisco and Berkeley typically impose a cap on the total number of nights a non-hosted short-term rental can be occupied each year. Resort communities with a high number of short-term rentals typically focus on proactive tax collection and nuisance prevention. Cities with older housing stock tend to focus on occupant safety, requiring building inspections or third-party certifications. Even the decision to require a permit and collect taxes on short-term rentals varies widely. Suburban bedroom communities with higher housing costs and little tourism tend to have fewer short-term rental listings. In situations where public interest and the potential for tax revenue is limited, cities are less likely to allow or regulate short-term rentals. Short-term rentals pose unique challenges for enforcement and tax collection because precise information on their location, availability, cost, and actual occupancy rates are difficult to obtain. The Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) revenue from short- term rentals is generally self-reported, and paid by hosts on an honor system. The ease of listing a property online and the myriad of websites and property management companies offering the service make it difficult for cities to monitor and enforce tax avoidance. Cities that do proactive permitting and tax enforcement typically employ an outside consultant specializing in online monitoring and enforcement. Airbnb is one of the few online listing companies willing to collect and remit local taxes on behalf of hosts through a formal agreement with individual cities, but the vast majority of short-term rental websites do not willingly share their listing City of San Leandro Page 2 of 6