Tools in place as new VHR rules go into effect in South Lake Tahoe

The City of South Lake Tahoe put the finishing touches to the new Vacation Home Rental (VHR) ordinance Tuesday, paving the way for what community members have asked for: More enforcement, better monitoring and rules to bring reasonable calm to their neighborhoods.

"This is a code with real teeth," said SLT Police Chief Brian Uhler. "It's a clear and simple message that we're not fooling around. There are strong laws for staff to carry out."

After months of public workshops, meetings and collaboration, the new VHR ordinance begins December 22, 2017. South Lake Tahoe becomes the first jurisdiction to have strict VHR laws and the only one to have a cap (1,400) placed on the number allowable in the community.

When it starts, the City will be fully staffed in the departments that work on VHRs and a new company will aid with compliance from a technical side.

The company Host Compliance was hired during the December 12 City Council meeting after they scored the highest among three that submitted proposals. They have a proven track record with solutions to short-term rental compliance issues including VHR Rental Trend Monitoring, Address Identification, Rental Activity Monitoring, Tax Collection Support, A 24/7 Short-Term Rental Hotline service, and Reviews VHR advertisements across 21+ Short Term Rental websites.

Their ability to have a 24 hour hotline for complaints will be valuable to those who previously said the police didn't respond when the violation was happening. The person on the line will dispatch a VHR team member to the scene and take needed information.

Host Compliance will be paid up to $118,400 annually to provide their services, an amount that is expected to be recouped through unlicensed VHRs being discovered, under-reported Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) and fines.

Also during the Council meeting, the VHR team was introduced. It includes law enforcement, code enforcement and the planning department. There have been three additional VHR personnel hired, giving the City the opportunity to be more proactive in enforcement of the ordinance, instead of being put in a spot to be just reactive.

Besides the enhanced team, one of the biggest partners in preventing excessive noise, parking and trash issues is the next $1,000 fine. No more warnings, the violators will get fined, as will the home owner.

SLT City Manager Nancy Kerry went over the new rules with vacation home owners and property managers Wednesday, giving them the tools necessary to be successful with compliant guests.

"We want to hit the ground running," said Kerry about being prepared for December 22.

Some of the teeth Uhler spoke of is the new "three strikes and you're out" portion of the ordinance. A homeowner can only have three violations in a 24-month period before permanently losing their ability to rent their home out on a short-term basis.

Those violations include:

- Noise – no excessive noise at any time but especially after 10 pm
- Parking - is only allowed in the driveway or inside the garage of the VHR. No street parking is allowed at any time.
- Trash – keep the trash in a bear box or indoors
- Maximum Occupancy/vehicles – cannot exceed the posted occupancy or vehicle limitations at ANY TIME. Parties and weddings are prohibited.
- Hot Tubs – absolutely no hot tub use between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.

The City has created a special facebook page and other promotional materials for renters, homeowners, local and property managers to use and keep up on items pertaining to VHRs.

New Brochure: http://www.cityofslt.us/DocumentCenter/View/8862

City's VHR website: http://www.cityofslt.us/VHR