Council Discusses Short Term Rentals

Short-term rentals (STR) are generally defined as renting a home or a portion of a home for stays of less than 30 days. Given the popularity of apps such as Airbnb, the use of short-term rentals in residential areas, including Addison, has increased. In March 2019, the City Council adopted regulations that require that STR properties be registered with the Town and that the owner and occupants agree to abide by certain requirements to minimize their impact on the adjacent neighbors.

The ordinance included a sunset provision after one year, requiring the City Council to review and adjust or extend the requirements by April 30, 2020. If the ordinance is not extended, short-term rentals would be allowed, but without the registration process or regulations the Town has established.

Since the adoption of the ordinance, six properties have registered with the Town. Staff estimates that there are many more properties being used as short-term rentals, but it has proven more difficult than expected to make contact with these property owners.

At the February 13 Work Session, Director of Development Services Charles Goff gave the City Council an update on STR properties and staff's challenges related to enforcement. He presented an option to contract with an outside vendor, Host Compliance, to provide staff with an updated monthly report, with detailed location data, of active STR properties within Town boundaries. Host Compliance estimates as many as 80 STRs are currently operating in Addison.

Council gave staff direction to extend the program for another year, contract with Host Compliance to enhance enforcement efforts, and raise STR registration fees to cover the cost of that contract. This item will come back to Council at a future meeting for formal adoption.

You can watch the Council's discussion on short term rentals here and read the presentation here.