Unhosted homes limited to 60 nights
Last month the city of Half Moon Bay’s new short-term rental ordinance went into effect, capping a yearslong process of public input and policy crafting that determines how long residents can operate vacation rentals. New operators have to sign onto the terms of the ordinance before opening their doors, and existing short-term rental operators have to re-register before the end of February 2024.
Advocates for the ordinance say the policies are intended to protect local housing stock while allowing visitor accommodations, something the California Coastal Commission supports. The changes mean that homes where the primary resident is not present during the occupant's stay, known as unhosted STRs, can only operate 60 nights per year. There is no limit on the number of nights an occupant can stay in a hosted STR, which refers to a unit in which a resident or host is present.
City staff estimate there are at least 46 licensed STRs in Half Moon Bay, about 1 percent of the current housing stock. The city’s new policy states that in order to operate a short-term rental, the property owner has to live there half the year to qualify as the primary resident. If the rental operator is not the property owner, the owner has to give written consent to the short-term vacation rental use.
Each operator is only allowed to have one STR property within the city. For unhosted STRs, the city’s new policy requires a property owner, operator or agent to be a local contact person in case of emergencies or complaints when the vacation rental is in operation. In order to rent a unit, long-term tenants must live on the property in question for at least two years to be considered primary residents.
However, STR units in the Commercial-Downtown and Commercial-General zoning districts, which cover most of downtown east of Main Street, are exempt from the primary residency requirement. Rentals licensed and in good standing with the city, meaning they paid their Transient Occupancy Tax before Oct. 14, 2022, are grandfathered in and exempt from the primary residency requirement.
The policy prohibits STRs in most mobile homes, farmworker housing, accessory dwelling units, multi-family developments with four or more units, and any mixed-use or residential development with one or more low-income units.
To learn more about the city’s STR ordinance and view it in its entirety, visit half-moon-bay.ca.us/931/Short-Term-Rentals.
Read the original article at https://www.hmbreview.com/news/city-closes-door-on-short-term-rental-ordinance/article_d30d2a46-57bc-11ee-aec7-9f6d1d8cdc52.html
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