There’s quite a few reasons why we should all be asking our city council members and county commissioners across the nation for a comprehensive regulatory system for short term rentals where we live. Let’s consider Grays Harbor, for example, as a county and its municipalities to see some of the impact that the lack of proper regulations means to the communities.
Data
It’s all about data. We can’t tell how many people are coming throughout the entire summer based solely on hotel occupancy, and this is valid for cities and county at large. It matters for emergency preparations, law enforcement and first responders, event planning, traffic impact, etc. This is also true for events that happen during shoulder and low seasons, such as clam tides.
Revenue Loss
Lodging taxes, business licenses, and payroll taxes. More about payroll taxes in a bit.
Safety
Unregistered rental homes don’t go through any inspections. As one example, there are homes under 800 sq ft are accommodating more than six guests at a time. There are no safety inspections from fire departments, septic systems, proper road access, and parking limitations.
Neighborhood Conflict
Without a clear set of rules or sometimes no rules at all, the county (or city) relies on neighbor’s complaints to go after homeowners who are not caring for their properties or accountable for how many people are occupying a rental and how their behavior is impacting neighbor homes. The burden of unregulated rentals should not fall on neighbor’s shoulders. This creates an unnecessary atmosphere of conflict and dispute.
Worker’s Rights
Let’s not forget about the safety and fairness of cleaners. Housekeepers are on the short end of the stick. With an unregulated rental, cleaners are mostly paid under the table, with no worker’s rights and no insurance if they get hurt while performing their job with no worker’s comp or payments towards their social security.
The Whole Community Wins
A comprehensive regulatory system levels the playing field for all homeowners and professional managers, big and small, making them accountable for their rental operation and promoting a safe, peaceful environment for all neighbor homes. We all benefit from rental homes that are well taken care of and the income they bring to the community with the the labor utilized in their maintenance and the influx of patrons visiting all local businesses.
What About Enforcement?
Of course, any regulation is as good as its enforcement. There needs to be enforcement systems in place. That will be addressed in another post later. Stay tuned and always reach out to me through the contact us link below. Stay safe,
Elizabeth Coverdale, your Vacation Rental Insider.
