The Houston City Council is preparing to consider a new ordinance that would regulate short-term rentals across the city.
Short-term rentals are defined as units that are rented for fewer than 30 consecutive days, although the draft ordinance laid out in a recent Quality of Life Committee makes exceptions for a number of facilities, like bed and breakfasts and hotels, boarding homes, and other limited unique circumstances.
The ordinance would require each short-term rental (STR) to be registered with the city with separate fees for initial registration and an annual renewal ranging from $200 to $275. For non-compliance, the proposed ordinance would assess a fine of up to $500 per violation and for each day the violation goes unresolved.
The city notes that some organizations like Airbnb and Expedia as well as a number of non-corporate landlords, neighbors, and the general public have commented, but other large STR platforms like Booking.com and Homestay have not. As of December 4, it has received 188 responses, with 58 percent supporting the regulation and 42 percent opposing. The city is still requesting feedback.
Concerns of individual landlords included delays in the registration process—as often happens in the building permitting process—which could thereby delay their ability to rent out their properties. In terms of penalties, STR landlords noted that some issues take longer than a day to resolve, so daily fines as they try to come into compliance wouldn’t be fair. They also questioned how a host will know about the issuance and resolution status of citations given to guests. Both Airbnb and individual landlords said the proposed application process is too onerous and will either lead to noncompliance or the need for legal counsel to assist with achieving compliance.
According to the city, about 8,500 short-term rentals are operating across Houston. The city also reports there isn’t much of a statistical difference in incidents on STR properties versus non-STR properties “in terms of both HPD and 311 service calls,” and that although “STRs are more likely to have service calls than a non-STR residence, the average is still well below one call per STR per year, and the percentage of calls regarding serious offenses is exactly the same as non-STR residential properties.”
While the ordinance is still in draft form, and the council remains open to feedback, it is expected to be taken up for consideration soon. If approved, it will go into effect in January.
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