Riemer Introduces Legislation to Allow Homeowners to Legally Rent out their Homes on a Short Term Basis (VIDEO)
During today’s County Council session, Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 16-03 was introduced by lead sponsor Hans Riemer. This zoning text amendment would allow homeowners to legally rent out their properties on a short-term basis. Currently, County homeowners are restricted from renting out properties on popular services such as Airbnb or Roomorama. Find out more in this MyMCMedia Extra video:
The text amendment would amend the County’s definition of a “Bed and Breakfast,” and allow a bed and breakfast as a limited use in all residential and mixed-use zones. A public hearing is tentatively scheduled on the ZTA for 1:30 p.m. on March 8.
Most homeowners are not restricted from renting out on Airbnb. But there are requirements and standards to do so that Riemer wants to eliminate. It is not currently an illegal practice. These standards are in place to safeguard the public. It only costs them $605 to go through the County’s public hearing process. If they complete the process, they would make up that $605 many times over. Reimer wants to eliminate that process and the other requirements for establishing a bed and breakfast in a residential neighborhood. He says he would be fine if his neighbors rented their house out “occasionally” yet his bill allows rentals that could be hourly, daily and weekly. Instead of encouraging people to follow the rules, the Council wants to eliminate the rules that protect neighbors.