Bend City Council acted appropriately in recruiting a task force on the issue of vacation home rentals. The Council could have overreacted to neighbor complaints about vacation rentals, valid complaints about noise, parking and rental signs posted on the property. Some residents believe that the entire vacation rental option is degrading neighborhood livability.
However the Council chose to proceed cautiously and appoint a 23-person task force consisting of various stakeholders (residents, property owners, managers and tourism representatives) who will review and make recommendations about regulating vacation rentals.
The attention that vacation rentals have received in the community recently has prompted homeowners and vacation rental managers to quickly apply for a license (nearly 100 applications since the middle of September). Over the same period of time the City has had at least 11 code enforcement complaints.
There are close to 600 homes registered as vacation rentals although that doesn’t mean that they are all rented out. Some of the homes registered are only for potential or future vacation rental options.
Currently property owners who wish to rent out their homes as a short-term or vacation home rental need to obtain a permit from the City of Bend. All lodging operators whether a hotel or a vacation home rental must collect and remit Transient Room Tax. The transient room taxes collected from lodging operators are used to fund public safety and other city services that support tourism and used to fund the City’s tourism promotion efforts managed by Visit Bend. The cost for the permit today is about $500 and presently a onetime fee with no annual renewal, which could change with new regulations.
It’s important that the task force take a balanced approach to their charge and strive to balance neighborhood livability with private property rights and Bend’s tourism economy. According to the City staff the task force will develop recommendations that could include ideas such as an annual licensing program or different land-use regulations, all of which will be subject to approval by the Bend City Council.
There are a lot of options the task force could consider including an annual renewal with inspection, proof of room tax registration and payment, insurance requirements, a good neighbor policy requirement, 24-hour contact info for neighbors, fire inspection, county health department coordination, fees and penalties and how much all of this potential compliance could cost the City.
It’s hopeful that everyone on the task force will agree that vacation rental tenants should be subject to the same kind of courtesies that residents adhere to: keeping the noise down, parking in your own driveway, maintaining your property and not having numerous people coming and going at all hours of the night. Most vacation rental companies and most homeowners who rent out their homes to visitors are cognizant of being a good neighbor. But they can’t always control the behavior of their guests and what does the City do then?
It would be really unfortunate to make vacations rentals so difficult for homeowners and property managers that Bend became known as an unfriendly place for tourists. Tourism is a top economic contributor in Bend and thanks to Visit Bend it is increasingly known as a destination of choice for travelers from all over the world. Having distinctive and affordable accommodations in the form of short-term rentals is important to our tourism industry.
We agree that short-term rentals should be regulated and taxed, and that owners, property managers or hosts should be required to register their property and pay the applicable taxes. However, regulations and requirements for registration and taxation must be logical, affordable, and easy to interpret.
We’re looking forward to the task force recommendations that allows the City Council to create reasonable, neighbor and visitor-friendly regulations for short-term rental owners and providers. Recommendations that benefit the City, the neighbors and the tourists. It’s an important charge and we urge the various factors on the task force to take an amenable approach to their options.
Vacation Home Rental Community Input Opportunity
The City of Bend has created a new, online opportunity for public input as Vacation Home Rental regulations are developed. Log into www.bendvoice.org and weigh in.
Comments from the online forum will be shared with the Vacation Home Rental Task Force, made up of community volunteers, who will identify issues and propose solutions for managing Vacation Home Rentals between now and early March.
You can find more information about what the City is doing with Vacation Home Rentals at www.bendoregon.gov/vacationrentals.
