I am tired of seeing new people move in and out of a house next door every month. Is there something that can be done?
Larry says
If we actually want to protect our housing, we need to be proactive. The city needs to contract with a software company (like Granicus/Host Compliance) to track every illegal listing on Airbnb, VRBO, and across the web 24/7. When violators are caught, we shouldn’t waste time with soft warning letters. We already have heavy fines written into our code; we need to force them to hand over every single dollar they received in rent and slap a lien, with an increasing penalty on the property if they don’t pay. I want to treat them like an extended-stay hotel by levying business taxes and Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT). It’s all about the money; if they want to run a commercial hotel in our neighborhoods, let’s treat them like one.
larryforojai.com/ask/23
Check it yourself
- The fines, the forfeiture of the rent and the lien are already in the code: Short-Term Rentals, City of Ojai. Ojai Municipal Code Title 4, Chapter 24 and Section 10-2.1715. ↗
- How the city finds them now, and what enforcement has produced so far: Ojai will collect revenue obtained by property owners from illegal short-term rentals. Ojai Valley News, April 16, 2024. ↗
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