Jersey shore homeowners opinion of short-term rentals: Like dropping a motel directly into a residential neighborhood. At odds with local zoning ordinance?
Main issues affecting local residents:
- Depleted housing stock— STR investor groups outbidding those looking for family home or annual rental.
- Noise disturbances—Short-term renters aren’t invested in area or property. Show little (if any) regard for neighbors.
- Loss of Community. Year-round residency declines. Local business shuts down in off-season. Employees laid off.
STR’s harm families that need to rent annually. STR’s makes it more difficult for young families to buy a primary residence.
Issues such as the depletion of housing for local residents and noise disturbances have motivated local governments to take action and limit the growth and operation of short-term rentals in their neighborhoods. Local residents didn’t appreciate that short-term renters were taking up housing that could have benefited people in their neighborhood. And it didn’t help that some of these renters showed a complete disregard for their neighbors—or for the properties they rented.
- Margate: at least 109 short-term rentals
- Ventnor: at least 346 short-term rentals
- Brigantine: at least 744 short-term rentals
Getting out of hand?
How do other towns deal with short-term rentals?
- Margate – 7 night minimum stay.
- Ventnor– 3 night minimum stay.
- Longport – 14 night
- Brigantine – No minimum stay.
- NYC – Owner of Airbnb must be present at property, no more than two “boarders”.
- Honolulu: 90-day minimum stay for rentals in residential areas.
- Marco Island: Liability insurance policy of at least $1 million
- Dallas: Banned STR’s
- Miami – prohibits rentals of 6 months or less. Applies to most residential neighborhoods.
- Montréal curb wave of STR listings to preserve housing for residents.
- Somers Point short-term rental regs. 3-day-stay minimums.
- Sarasota, Florida 7 night minimum stay, 10-person max for single-family-home stays.
- Asbury Park: Must be primary residence, not investment. Companies were turning homes into hotels.
- Aspen, Colorado: 5% tax for short-term rentals, 10% tax on investment properties. Re-affirmation that Aspen is a community, wants to be a community, and supports the community.
AirBnBs hurt local Real Estate agents. There are more STR’s, than actual homes for sale. STR’s like AirBnB take away weekly and monthly rental business from agents.
Agents typically do 4 week STR minimums, complete with proper background checks & deeper vetting.
It’s basically like dropping a motel directly into a residential neighborhood. Operating as a business within a residential neighborhood.
Private properties are not adequately inspected and certified like a hotel or a bed and breakfast. There’s no way for the town to certify and be 100% sure of health and safety for STR renters.
Towns having trouble hiring more Code Enforcement officers, or they just don’t want to enforce the law.
Brigantine and Ventnor are two Jersey shore towns that have lenient or NO Airbnb laws and short-term rental policies. Code enforcement is limited.
Brigantine and Ventnor. Short-term rental hell for neighbors. Quite lucrative for absentee landlords with multiple properties. Hiding behind LLC’s.
NOTE: New Jersey beach towns from Point Pleasant down to Cape May are tapping brakes on short-term rentals.
RICH GOBER: I wish Ventnor commissioners had gone to a 7 day minimum rental. Ventnor Code Enforcement office is not open on Saturday and Sunday when no doubt, 95% of the problems will occur. Complaint? Call the building department at 609-823-7987. They can tell you how many bedrooms that unit is and what the maximum number of occupants that are allowed. The code enforcement office accepts anonymous complaints. People need to attend Commissioner meetings. You can also participate via ZOOM. Email the Commissioners too. Tell them we need a weekend number to call. Overcrowding of STR’s should be investigated by Ventnor Code Enforcement when the alleged violation is actually taking place. The police department mainly handles noise or illegal activity, not zoning ordinance.
From Jhocker113@gmail.com – This new breed of short-term rentals (ex: AirBnB) are clearly different. They are strictly business. They maximize their profit on the backs of municipalities. In the long run short term rentals will be devastating to the community, and have a drastic negative affect on all other businesses.
Most short-term renters don’t spend their dollars in our communities,
Ultimately, short-term rentals are a parasite on the community. Running a business at the expense of the community.
Other businesses are required to have private trash removal, and have off street parking to accommodate their business. Should be taxed like a business not a residence.
Short-term rentals add no benefits to the community. 100% negative for the community. Only benefits mostly absentee landlords. This is dramatically different compared with rentals that always existed in our community.
Ventnor going to a 3 night rental minimum is not sufficient. It should be changed to a 7 night minimum, all year long, not just during summer. Number of licenses issued by city should be capped. Number of short term rentals allowed in each block should only be one.
As long as Ventnor has fewer restrictions than Margate and Longport, Ventnor will continue to be taken advantage of. It will attract more STR’s.
Also, for homeowners who wanted to move but who didn’t want to lose their 3% mortgage rate, renting out the space seemed an ideal way to cover the cost of holding onto one home after moving into another one.
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Let’s stop making the suppositions with superlatives such as Most, 100% negative benefits, etc everything I have read and backed up at the 9/6 council meeting would suggest the problems noted were North end properties specifically 7th and 8th streets, 19th and 20th streets, and Lafayette.
If that’s where the Mcmansions are the scenes of absentee ownership and disregard of neighbors and properties ENFORCE the laws where the problem exists.
I have been renting my home for 22 years without an incident. Some come from VRBO, some private and most through BRIGANTINE REALTORS.
The home is inspected yearly by the Fire inspector. I have a contract with every rental. Minimum stay 7 nights, and no one under 25 can rent.
Recently Brigantine requires a posting in the house limiting the number of people who can stay there.
It would appear to me we already have some control over the rental population. We need to tightened it up and ENFORCE the residential code to the extent of the law.
Just maybe going after the real absentee business owners they will need to STOP renting and buy houses in other shore towns where they continue to run their rentals as a business and leave Brigantine to be a family friendly island.