EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. – The County Board of Supervisors heard an update on Vacation Home Rentals (VHRs) during their South Lake Tahoe meeting on Tuesday, one year after the latest ordinance went into effect.

While many updates were made to the county’s VHR ordinance in 2020, more came along in 2024 after an advisory committee was created to address a number of issues that were creating an impact to local residents. The Supervisors approved a cap of 900 VHRs in the Tahoe Basin area of the county, a buffer of 500 feet between permitted homes, a limit of two per bedroom, a permit requirement for hosted homes, vegetation management rules, and a beefed-up code enforcement staff, among other changes.

As of mid-August, there were 762 permits issued in the Basin, with 203 on the wait list, and 17 issued on the West Slope, and 13 on the wait list. The wait list is due to the buffer zone rules, and they are waiting for permitted homes to leave the program.

Even though the program is working in the Basin, residents on the West Slope say they shouldn’t have the same rules as situations are different with larger properties, farms and wineries. Even if there are perhaps acres between homes, the rules go by the property lines, and lead to illegal/unpermitted VHRs. There are now 17 hosted rentals in the Basin, 11 on the West Slope. These are homes where the homeowners are present and rent out rooms in their homes.

The Supervisors wanted increased enforcement to address complaints, and the presentation they heard Tuesday shows it works, especially with a dedicated phone number for the public to call. That number is 530.573.7999. The complaint email is VHRenforcement@edcgov.us. Between June 25, 2024, and August 15, 2025, 988 calls were received on the enforcement phone line, and 331 emails. Response times on those calls have improved, with an average of a six-minute response time from complaint to a call back; 11 minutes until a call is made to the required local contact; and 35 minutes until code enforcement is at the property.

In 2024, there were 221 enforcement cases opened, 151 on the case management system, and 173 unpermitted VHR violations. The leading violations were for lack of signage (16), trash (13), occupancy (9), and noise (8). Fines collected were $104,905.

From January 1, 2025, to August 15, 2025, there have been 326 enforcement cases opened, 211 on the case management system, and 276 unpermitted VHR violations. The leading violations were for occupancy (30), trash (12), noise (3); and lack of signage (2). Fines collected have been $136,981 out of the $421,000 charged, with some still in the collection phase.

The goal of Code Enforcement is to achieve voluntary compliance with the rules, and they said they will continue to work with all partners and by communicating with the public. They currently have a booth at the Meyers Market on Wednesdays during the summer. Code Enforcement said they’d rather work collaboratively with corrective measures instead of fining.

The collected tourist occupancy tax (TOT) from VHRs has been dropping since 2022/23 when the county collected $8,812,750.66 – $3,154,901 from Tahoe, $1,541,473.46 from the West, and $4,116,376.21 from Airbnb (which doesn’t break it down by region, just county). In 2022, voters passed Measure S, which added four percent to TOT collected, which goes to just roads, and this increase is not represented in these figures.

A property manager who spoke during the meeting and input from others on the South Shore say the fall and winter are trending slower than average, with bookings up to 25 percent down for some.

The West Slope speakers at the meeting want two sets of rules, one for them and one for the Basin. They look at the rules hurting their economy, and the residents didn’t feel part of the VHR ordinance process, thus leaving unintended consequences for their communities.

Supervisor Greg Ferrero, who represents District I, suggested they suspend all fines associated with the ordinance as they look at issues on the West Slope. This couldn’t be done since his desire was beyond the scope of the agenda. Instead the board will bring back the West Slope issues with the formation of an Ad Hoc committee and future engagement with the public.