Stricter rules could be on the way for property owners operating short-term rentals in Austin.
Austin City Council members are set to vote today on several new rules that they hope will crack down on unlicensed short-term rentals, something the council has been trying to do for years.
If approved, the new rules would require host sites, like Airbnb and Vrbo, to put a city-issued license number in the advertisement. The host sites will also be required to remove unlicensed listings at the city’s request.
“We want to bring the STRs platforms into the process of helping us effectively enforce our licensing requirements,� said Daniel Word, the assistant director with Austin’s Development Services Department, which oversees short-term rentals.
The changes would also prohibit an owner from running two or more rentals within 1,000 feet of each other. For sites with more than four units, the owner cannot run more than 25% of the units as rentals.
Word said the goal is for the city to better enforce its licensing requirements and more quickly address nuisance concerns, like noise.
“Licensed STR locations tend to operate better and more peacefully with the neighborhoods than unlicensed locations,� Word said. “So part of the idea here is if we are able to get to a better place in terms of compliance with our licensing requirements, that might naturally cause better compliance with some other ordinances.�
He said that will also allow the city’s enforcement to focus on nuisance issues rather than chasing unlicensed properties.
There are more than 2,400 active short-term rental licenses in Austin, according to city data. But, which collects listings from companies like Airbnb, reports there are nearly 15,000 active listings in the Austin area.
Thursday's vote comes after the city in February decided to postpone a decision on several new rules that would have made it more difficult for people to continue renting their homes without a license.
However, the City Council did change how Austin collects taxes from short-term rental owners.
Property owners who rent out their homes for periods of less than 30 consecutive days at a time have to pay a hotel occupancy tax. Owners usually pay these taxes directly to the city.
In April, Austin started requiring short-term rental websites to collect these taxes and send the money to the city. Airbnb has similar agreements with dozens of cities throughout the country, including Houston and San Antonio.
City officials said existing short-term rentals with a license can continue to operate so long as they don’t become a nuisance and ownership remains the same.
If approved by council, owners will have until May 1, to get a license before their listings would be removed from rental websites. The changes involving the distance between two or more rentals by the same owner would go into effect Oct. 1.
