Understanding Anaheim’s Vacation Rental Rules

According to the Orange County register, Landlords in Anaheim will be forced to follow new rules beginning on July 1st, 2014. Specifically, this article targets homeowners who are interested in renting out their homes to tourists traveling to destinations as Disneyland, Angel Stadium and the Honda Center. Real Property Management in Orange County strives to always be on top of local, state and federal housing laws. Read on for more information from our local newspaper, the Orange County Register.

BY ART MARROQUIN / STAFF WRITER

New rules will be enforced beginning July 1 on more than 200 Anaheim homeowners who rent out their properties to tourists bound for such destinations as Disneyland, local conventions or Angel Stadium.

The City Council this month agreed that owners of houses and condominiums that double as short-term rentals need to pay an annual $250 registration fee to cover the city’s cost for monitoring and inspecting the properties. The aim, city officials said, is to reduce the number of complaints coming from those who live near these homespun businesses.

“I think this will help the good property owners, and it will also rein in the people who have not paid attention to how their neighbors are severely impacted by the noise, the trash, the parking and everything else that goes on,” Councilwoman Lucille Kring said.

Homeowners will have to display city permits and warn guests about noise restrictions between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. Guests must stay at least three consecutive nights, with no more than three people per bedroom as a way to control the number of guests coming through residential neighborhoods, Assistant City Manager Greg Garcia said. Additionally, the houses must provide at least two off-street parking spaces.

Proprietors who break the rules face fines of $200 to $1,000, along with inspection fees if they fail to fix any violations. Criminal charges could be filed for the most egregious offenders, Garcia said.

It’s unclear whether city officials plan to eventually collect taxes from short-term rental proprietors, just as they do from hotels. At 15 percent, Anaheim’s transient-occupancy tax is the largest source of revenue for the city’s coffers.

Anaheim officials spent more than a year crafting the new regulations with the Anaheim Rental Alliance, a group of 70 homeowners who operate short-term rentals.

Members said they support the measures, because it gives them an incentive to maintain their properties and serve as good neighbors in residential areas.

“Most of these owners are mom-and-pop operators who run very efficient, good rental homes, but unfortunately, it only takes one or two bad neighbors who make us look bad,” said Frances Noteboom, a co-founder of the alliance who operates several short-term rentals.

Other Orange County cities, including Seal Beach and Newport Beach, have similar laws.

Some people who live near these vacation homes, like Julie Brunette, complained to the City Council about problems with parking and noisy guests. Seven houses in her neighborhood have turned into short-term rentals in recent years, likely because they’re a half-mile from Disneyland, Brunette said.

“I don’t appreciate these strangers coming into my neighborhood and breaking up my peace and quiet,” Brunette said. “If the city doesn’t keep an eye on them the way they say they will, then I will picket outside these houses and City Hall.”

Contact the writer: 714-704-3769 or amarroquin@ocregister.com

Art Marroquin, Short-tern rentals in Anaheim will see new rules

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/city-613871-term-short.html, retrieved 5/21/2014