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From the Desk of PAII's President/CEO
AROUND THE COUNTRY: STRs ARE BEING REGULATED
Our lodging partner, AH&LA (when you're a PAII Innkeeper member, you're an AH&LA member!) has passed along highlights of recent state and local actions to regulate short term rentals.
City of Baltimore: public hearing on the bill requiring STRs to be licensed by the owner of the dwelling unit; license # must be included in ads; rental is restricted to the primary residence plus one dwelling unit; the owner must register for the collection of state sales and use tax; and unhosted rentals are limited to no more than 60 days per year.
Here's our favorite part: Among other witnesses, a bed and breakfast owner was asked by the sponsor to list all of the fees, registration and licensing processes she has to go through in order to operate her business -illustrating the unfair discrepancy in the law between short-term rental operators and legitimate lodging businesses.
State of Massachusetts: with overwhelming support (House vote 117-30; Senate vote 30-8) a statewide registration system was enacted, with locally enforced safety regulations and no Voluntary Tax Collection Agreement. Sent to the Governor's desk for signature, an amended version was filed that included exemptions for users who rent out their properties for fewer than 14 days from having to get a $1 million insurance policy and register with Department of Revenue. Work continues for passage in 2018
State of New Jersey: New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed AB 1753, which applies sales and use and occupancy taxes on STRs; the tax structure is similar to that of hotels.
City of San Diego: San Diego City Council approved by a 6-2 vote an ordinance restricting short-term rentals to a host's primary residence only. A broad-based coalition of organized labor, affordable housing advocates and neighborhood groups contended that "primary residence only" was the best way to rein in the illegal hotels that plague the city's residential neighborhoods.
New York City: the New York City Council recently voted unanimously to make STR portion of the city's administrative code more stringent. The amendment will require STR platforms to submit monthly disclosure reports of listings with addresses, legal names, URLs of advertisement/listing, total number of days unit was rented, total amount of fees, and other data to the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement.
City of Portland, Oregon: despite being one of the first cities to regulate STRs (2014) a city audit revealed 80% of STRs in the city are operating illegally. Without platform accountability, Portland finds its laws unenforceable; an amendment will add penalties for failure to file rental registration data, and creates an Analyst position to implement the program.
Fairfax County, Virginia: After over a year of study, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved rules to limit rentals to primary residence for no more than 60 nights per calendar year; apply transient occupancy taxes, limit occupancy to six people at a time; require at least one designated parking space; and require rentals to have a valid permit.
We do have details (such as bill numbers / links) and if you'd like the information, send me a request. Also, we have just submitted to AH&LA the new member list of innkeepers who joined PAII after May 1; watch your email for AH&LA membership info and the opportunity to choose which publications you'd like to receive
AROUND THE COUNTRY: STRs ARE BEING REGULATED
Our lodging partner, AH&LA (when you're a PAII Innkeeper member, you're an AH&LA member!) has passed along highlights of recent state and local actions to regulate short term rentals.
City of Baltimore: public hearing on the bill requiring STRs to be licensed by the owner of the dwelling unit; license # must be included in ads; rental is restricted to the primary residence plus one dwelling unit; the owner must register for the collection of state sales and use tax; and unhosted rentals are limited to no more than 60 days per year.
Here's our favorite part: Among other witnesses, a bed and breakfast owner was asked by the sponsor to list all of the fees, registration and licensing processes she has to go through in order to operate her business -illustrating the unfair discrepancy in the law between short-term rental operators and legitimate lodging businesses.
State of Massachusetts: with overwhelming support (House vote 117-30; Senate vote 30-8) a statewide registration system was enacted, with locally enforced safety regulations and no Voluntary Tax Collection Agreement. Sent to the Governor's desk for signature, an amended version was filed that included exemptions for users who rent out their properties for fewer than 14 days from having to get a $1 million insurance policy and register with Department of Revenue. Work continues for passage in 2018
State of New Jersey: New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed AB 1753, which applies sales and use and occupancy taxes on STRs; the tax structure is similar to that of hotels.
City of San Diego: San Diego City Council approved by a 6-2 vote an ordinance restricting short-term rentals to a host's primary residence only. A broad-based coalition of organized labor, affordable housing advocates and neighborhood groups contended that "primary residence only" was the best way to rein in the illegal hotels that plague the city's residential neighborhoods.
New York City: the New York City Council recently voted unanimously to make STR portion of the city's administrative code more stringent. The amendment will require STR platforms to submit monthly disclosure reports of listings with addresses, legal names, URLs of advertisement/listing, total number of days unit was rented, total amount of fees, and other data to the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement.
City of Portland, Oregon: despite being one of the first cities to regulate STRs (2014) a city audit revealed 80% of STRs in the city are operating illegally. Without platform accountability, Portland finds its laws unenforceable; an amendment will add penalties for failure to file rental registration data, and creates an Analyst position to implement the program.
Fairfax County, Virginia: After over a year of study, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved rules to limit rentals to primary residence for no more than 60 nights per calendar year; apply transient occupancy taxes, limit occupancy to six people at a time; require at least one designated parking space; and require rentals to have a valid permit.
We do have details (such as bill numbers / links) and if you'd like the information, send me a request. Also, we have just submitted to AH&LA the new member list of innkeepers who joined PAII after May 1; watch your email for AH&LA membership info and the opportunity to choose which publications you'd like to receive
