Of all the homes in Summit County, more than one in five is listed as a nightly rental. That’s according to the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, which says that’s the highest percentage of any county in the state.
Summit County Manager Tom Fisher said the number of nightly rentals may be affecting housing affordability, as homes that might have been rented to workers are no longer available in the long-term rental pool. And it’s happening as local businesses are struggling to find help.
“It's not only a problem from the standpoint of the completeness of our housing stock and its availability in order for folks to live here. But there's also issues around how those that rent nightly rentals act within a neighborhood, and whether they're acting as good neighbors or not,” Fisher said.
A report from the Summit County Attorney’s Office says those un-neighborly neighbors can impact the community with loud parties that last into the night or knocks on locals’ doors at all hours looking for an Airbnb. Parking, too, is a common issue, sometimes making its way into the local police blotter.
At 3:45 p.m. Wednesday, the Summit County Council is set to discuss the issue with the Attorney’s Office in an effort to find out what regulatory options are available.
Nightly rentals are already required to be licensed, but enforcing that requirement is challenging. Homeowners associations, however, may prohibit rentals in their neighborhoods.
Potential county-level solutions suggested by the Attorney’s Office appear to involve enforcing the existing health code or fire code. That could mean limiting the number of people who can be in a home or limiting nightly rentals in areas that have increased wildfire risk. Other solutions include limiting the number of days a house can be used for a nightly rental or requiring an owner or agent available at all hours to respond to a potential complaint.
The report suggests imposing a temporary zoning ordinance to prevent an influx of new nightly rental applications while the county works on ordinances meant to lessen negative impacts.
The county is forbidden from preventing someone from listing their property on a nightly rental site, one of the ways Fisher said state legislators have restricted enforcement of nightly rental regulations.
“Well, I'm not sure how we get around it yet. I mean, I think that's what we want to hear from the Attorney's Office, what the possibilities are,” Fisher said. “One of the big things is that, from a taxing perspective, a property taxing perspective, we can't go out and seek properties that are under nightly rental on their online systems to see if they're actually being taxed properly.”
Fisher said the Legislature imposed the restrictions partly because legislators view nightly rentals as a way to enable people to make money from their property and stay in their homes.
He called it a “one-size fits all solution,” but said it doesn’t fit resort communities.
“There's a lot of restrictions like that, that we have to work around,” Fisher said. “And if they can't be worked around, then perhaps we can work with our Legislature to see if there's a way to change the law to still accomplish their goals, but maybe accomplish ours as well.”
The council meeting will be streamed on the county’s Facebook page and via Zoom.
