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4/18/2016 City Regulation of Short-Term Vacation Rentals by Owners City Regulation of Short-Term Vacation Rentals by Owners Organizations like Airbnb (Link to: https://www airbnb.com/? af=43720035&c=A TC%3Dta2zq9t9w9%26G MT%3De%26G CR%3D100808697856%26G N%3Ds%26G K%3Dai rbnb.%26G P%3D%26G D%3Dc&gclid=CKCz- YXbmMwCFQmSaQod4X8Dlw&dclid=CMuBhobbmMwCFYx4AQodmU0E9w) and VRBO.com (Link to: https://www vrbo.com/) have made things interesting for cities and residents. These are services individuals may use to arrange short-term rental of someone's house, apartment, room, or bed for a night or more. Sometimes they cause issues for cities. Increasingly, cities are seeking information on whether and how to regulate these "short-term rental" situations. League research attorneys are available to answer your questions. What can cities regulate? Under state law, the Department of Health has jurisdiction to license and inspect hotels, motels, and lodging establishments unless a city or county has been delegated that responsibility. Hotels and motels are defined as buildings, structures, enclosures, or any part thereof used as, maintained as, advertised as, or held out to be places where sleeping accommodations are furnished to the public for a stay of less than a week. This alone captures a lot of short-term situations advertised online. Lodging establishments are defined as buildings, structures, enclosures, or any part thereof used as, maintained as, advertised as, or held out as places where sleeping accommodations are furnished to the public as regular roomers for stays of a week or more and having five or more beds to let to the public. (Lodging establishments also include accommodations for those awaiting medical treatment, their family, and caregivers.) In short, a lot of typical AirBNB or VRBO.com situations are subject to state regulation, but that does not preclude additional regulation by the city. The state and its delegates have invested a lot of effort into locating and requiring licensing compliance by applicable properties throughout the state offering accommodations through AirBNB, VRBO.com, or other means. However, the level of state/delegate licensing compliance of short-term rentals might inevitably remain low due to: The amount of state/delegate manpower required. The fact that new short-term rentals constantly enter the market. Those offering accommodations not in compliance may be notified and then take steps to avoid further detection from licensing authorities. For these reasons, the state fully supports cities adopting some regulation of situations potentially subject to state licensing to the extent it better enables state law licensing compliance. The short-term rental of any space having fewer than five beds and for periods of a week or more is unregulated by state law. These are situations only a city may regulate—at least until a legislative change gives regulatory authority to the state and its delegates or makes it exempt from any regulation, including city ordinance. There are plenty of situations the city can regulate. How can cities regulate these situations? The two basic approaches cities currently use to regulate short-term rentals are licensing/permitting or prohibition. How cities regulate short-term rentals varies in what constitutes "rental," what accommodations are subject to regulation, the location of the property, and other respects. For information on cities and counties that have taken steps to regulate these situations, contact the League Research and Information Department at (651) 281-1200, (800) 925-1122, or research@lmc.org (Link to: mailto:research@lmc.org) . http://www.lm c.org/page/1/ShortTerm Rental.jsp?utm_source=Apri 1+18+Bu1 letin-C ities&utm_cam paign=Bul leti n+4/18/16&utm_m edi um=em ai I 1/2