City of Ithaca’s New Short-Term Rental Regulations Go Into Effect – Neighboring Governments Watch
ITHACA, NY—The City of Ithaca’s new short-term rental (STR) legislation will go into effect April 1 and will limit the number of unhosted nights allowed to homeowners who rent their homes to others, often via Airbnb or another similar service.
At its 2021 year-end meeting, the Ithaca City Board of Directors passed the new bylaw unanimously, despite numerous public comments opposing it. Prior to this legislation, rental nights were not capped. The new limitations only allow non-hosted properties 29 nights per year and non-hosted lakeside properties 245 nights per year.
Owners are limited to two operating permits and must apply by July 1. Permits will be issued upon completion of inspections that meet all of the requirements set out in the City of Ithaca Local Law No. 16 in Chapter 270, Zoning, of the City of Ithaca Code.
The intent of the legislation is to minimize issues such as noise, litter and traffic in neighborhoods in order to protect permanent residents and their properties, to protect the affordability of long-term tenants and landlords as well as the “well-being of the community and of those occupying short-term rentals”. “, the actual effect of the new limitations is not so positive, according to the current owners of Airbnb and VRBO.
Nick Helmholdt, director of tourism planning for Tompkins County, said he doesn’t think the restrictions will impact tourism and thinks the changes are “really great” ways to improve the health and safety of permanent residents and their neighborhoods as well as anyone staying on a short-term rental.
Ithaca City landowners have been operating their STRs for years, and some depend on income from the properties they list year-round. Others, like snowbirds, only rent their homes for the winter, which far exceeds the 29 days currently allowed.
Chelsea Benson owns a property on South Hill which she has operated as an Airbnb since 2019, catering primarily to prospective students and their families visiting Ithaca College and Cornell University during the off-season and tourist families during summer.
Although her rental isn’t subject to the rental nights restriction, since it’s attached to her primary residence, Benson is moving away from STRs for long-term rentals, in part because of new legislation.
“In 2019 we booked 115 parties, and 2020 was weird because of the pandemic but we booked 112,” she said. “In 2021, we had 121 reservations and an occupancy rate of 86%. During the slower seasons we basically only rented weekends as it’s attached to our house.”
One of the benefits of operating an STR is the flexible hours, though Benson noted that’s still a lot of work in terms of cleaning and accessibility in case something goes wrong.
Although Benson is not affected by the reduction in the number of nights to rent imposed by the legislation, she is expected to limit her list to two people instead of the previous four due to the families of air mattresses used in the living room. “A lot of families took advantage of it because the bedroom separated the living room and it was a very inexpensive way for families to house themselves,” she said.
Reducing the number of nights is only part of the reason Benson is turning to long-term rentals.
“We wanted to make some changes to the suite and had to go through code enforcement to get permission to make those changes, and short-term rentals are a lot of work, especially being available for your guests all the time. . It’s also a bit tiring to be constantly revised,” she said with a laugh.
Benson said she worries about snowbirds and anyone who doesn’t live next to their rental property. “It’s really going to hurt tourism a lot, and we’re not making a lot of money from it, but I don’t know what other people will do if their rental isn’t set up for the long term.”
Bill Goodman, deputy city supervisor of Ithaca, said evidence of harm to large numbers of residents would be needed for changes to be considered in the future. “Normally we let a law go into effect and see what consequences it has that might be unintended. If there are unintended consequences, we could consider making an amendment.
Craig Dunham and Megan Shay, who have rented their home on Airbnb for around five years now as they head south for the winter, are now allowed zero days under new STR legislation as they spend a day more in Florida than in Florida. Ithaca.
While Dunham, who was an outspoken critic of the law at the time it was under discussion, says he does not believe the intent of the new restrictions is malicious, he is disappointed with the decision of the board of directors of the city of Ithaca to pass the law without taking snowbirds into consideration — “By the time we got involved, the council was fed up and wanted to continue.”
Dunham said he and Shay are weighing legal options with the help of a zoning attorney, though he’s not sure of the outcome. “We kind of feel like we won’t be able to do short term rentals and what that means for us is that we will try to do long term rentals when we have some time, but there’s no good way to find long-term rentals, he also expects their house to sit empty for long periods of time, which he says is counterproductive to the goal affected by the new restrictions.
Units offered as STRs from April 1 must apply for permits by July 1. Stays already on the books are grandfathered and allowed to occur as booked until the end of September.
Goodman said he and the council do not believe these changes will affect the general housing stock. “I think we’ve solved the housing situation in Ithaca by building more units, not worrying about what happens to a few people who have the resources to leave a unit vacant for several months.”
Tom Knipe, Deputy Director of Economic Development for the City of Ithaca, presented statistics regarding STRs at the Planning and Economic Development Committee (PEDC) meeting on March 16, as the city reflects on its own set potential regulations.
“In thinking about developing policy objectives for regulation, it is important to understand the benefits as well as some potential negative implications,” he told the meeting, listing benefits as increased tourism overall, the increase in income for residents, the increase in the tax on rooms and the increase in the supply of accommodation. without building additional hotels.
Knipe’s possible negative concerns included impacts on housing supply and affordability as well as the formal accommodation industry (hotels), impact on the health and well-being of local neighborhoods and their residents.
“I think it’s important that we are clear about the different types of listings, there is no single definition for a short term rental as a property. Is it an entire unit? Or a bedroom Is it used full-time or part-time Most properties in Ithaca City that are rented out on a short-term basis are likely for occasional use, which means they are likely occupied most of the time by a long-term tenant who is leaving their house for graduation from Cornell, for example,” he said.
Knipe also discussed New York State’s proposed STR legislation that has been on the books for “several years now” that would require hosts to have insurance, enacts penalties for violations between $1,000 and $25,000. , would require accommodation platforms like VRBO and Airbnb to collect state sales tax. and local occupancy tax and exempt hosts who rent less than 14 days per year from all taxes, among others.
Knipe also said he thinks the proposed policy goals take a “balanced approach” that allows the community to accrue some of the benefits while mitigating some of the negative impacts. (The full PEDC meeting can be found here.)
The city’s draft timeline would kick off the process of determining bylaws next April and May, have design options ready for Common Council by July, pass legislation by the end of 2022, and enact policies to from August 2023.
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