Tag: STR

On July 30, 2014, Portland City Council passed an ordinance to allow short term rentals (STR) in Portland’s residential zones so long as the operators followed City code and obtained proper permitting. Since that time, only about 20% of STR operators have complied. Until now, enforcement has been complaint based only; meaning that a neighbor or affected party would have to call the City enforcement program to report an un-permitted host. 

In June 2019, Portland City Council passed an ordinance to remove any un-permitted STR listings posted on Airbnb and HomeAway/VRBO. After a lengthy lawsuit, the two booking platforms agreed to work with the City to allow only properly permitted hosts to post listings on their sites. HomeAway/VRBO will simply remove any listings that don’t have the proper permit number by September 30th 2019. Airbnb has created a “pass-through” system where hosts can obtain permits through the Airbnb website. The “pass-through” permit system will go live November 1st 2019. Hosts that have not obtained a permit through Portland’s Bureau of Development Services or by signing up for the “pass-through” will be removed as of January 1st, 2020.

Airbnb has agreed to share its hosts’ data with the City of Portland. This means the City will now have the name, mailing address, email address, phone number and rental address of all of the listing owners, as well as the number of bedrooms rented, the number of guests advertised for rent, the listing type (entire house, private room or shared room), the listing description and URL, the number of reservations, as well as actual dates booked and financial details. This will allow the City to enforce rules regarding the number of rooms and guests. Those who are out of compliance will be fined.

Airbnb hosts that are compliant with Type-A ASTR (Accessory Short Term Rental) permitting parameters will have nothing to worry about as they will be able to use Airbnb’s online permitting system. Any hosts that are outside of the Type-A ASTR allowances, will be removed. 

The Type-A ASTR  designation allows for two guest bedrooms to be rented to a maximum of five short term guests, and there must be at least one long-term resident living in the home full time. All hosts that rent more than two bedrooms must apply for the Type-B ASTR permit. They will NOT be allowed to use Airbnb’s online “pass-through” system. The Type-B ASTR permit allows for 3-5 bedrooms to be rented to short term guests with a maximum of two guests per bedroom. This type of permit is a Type-II Land Use Review and is a lengthy, expensive and bureaucratic process.

Melissa Wright of Short Term Rental Permits can help homeowners gain City approval for  both Type A and Type-B permits. Melissa can guide STR operators through the Type A process whether through the Airbnb site or the Bureau of Development Services. As far as Type B permits are concerned, Melissa knows exactly how to navigate the Title 33 Planning and Zoning Codes for STRs, and how to gain approval from the City of Portland for this type of Land Use Review. She has a 100% success rate at getting these approved! 

If you are currently operating a 3-5 bedroom STR business without the proper City of Portland permitting, Melissa offers a free 20 minute phone call to discuss your permitting options through her website which can be found here: https://strpermit.com/connect.