District 1 Councilman Requests creation of a Rental Task Force
Published on December 09, 2022
District 1 Councilman files Council Consideration Requesting creation of a Short-Term Rental Task Force
SAN ANTONIO (Dec. 9, 2022) — District 1 Councilman Mario Bravo filed a Council Consideration Request (CCR) seeking the creation of a Short-Term Rental Task Force with the ability to review, develop, and recommend changes and updates to the current Short Term Rental Ordinance, as well as establish procedures for host compliance, the collection of Hotel Occupancy Taxes, permit review and verification, and enforcement.
The Councilman stated, “The request to update our Short-Term Rental regulations came from community members - both neighborhood representatives and short-term rental owners. Our office worked with the community and council colleagues to develop this resolution and move it forward.”
This resolution is signed by District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, District 4 Councilwoman Dr. Adriana Rocha Garcia, District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo, and District 9 Councilman John Courage.
“The impact of short-term rentals in our communities varies across the city so we must provide a forum for productive dialogue to take place with input from a range of people,” stated the District 4 Councilwoman. “While diversifying our local housing stock is essential, we need to be mindful of how the policies we adopt affect residents and their neighborhoods.”
Unpermitted STRs deprive neighborhoods of needed housing and the city of tax revenues. They create unfair competition for STR owners who are following the rules. Although the city has a contract to help with enforcement of unpermitted STRs, it is not clear how effective this process has been to date, and review of these internal and external processes are needed.
“As housing becomes more and more scarce for working families, policies like these will benefit the entire city by ensuring local housing goes to local families.” stated the District 5 Councilwoman.
The creation of a task force made up of short-term rental operators and neighborhood residents to address these aspects of the short term rental ordinance can increase Hotel Occupancy Tax revenue collected by the City of San Antonio and reduce unpermitted STRs from neighborhoods where more housing is needed for local residents.