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In less than two months, short-term housing rentals will no longer be available in San Bernardino.
On April 15, the city council voted 4-3 to ban all short-term rentals in the city, a move that includes Airbnb, HomeAway, and Vrbo. It does not apply to hotels or motels.
Council members Theodore Sanchez, Kimberly Knaus, and Sandra Ibarra voted against the ban, which is expected to become official May 20, when the council is scheduled to cast its final vote on the ordinance.
It will go into effect in mid-June.
A citywide ban with no exceptions is the best way to deal with a serious problem San Bernardino has been trying to fix for too long, Councilman Fred Shorett told his fellow council members.
“I’ve been in favor of the ban from the beginning,” said Shorett, who cast one of the four votes in favor of eliminating all short-term rentals in San Bernardino, regardless of what part of the the city they’re in. “A lot of the issues we’re dealing with are police issues, and we don’t have the resources to handle them.”
San Bernardino defines a short-term rental as one that lasts 30 consecutive calendar days or less. San Bernardino County uses the same standard.
For several years San Bernardino residents have been complaining for about loud noise, traffic, parking problems, damage to property and litter caused by short-term renters, who are usually people on vacation.
San Bernardino has an estimated 108 short-term rental listings, although the number could be higher. The ban will be enforced by the Code Enforcement Division and Deckard Technologies Inc. in San Diego, which uses data to help local governments identify and manage short-term rentals properties.
The city will pay Deckard $7,500 a year for its services.
Like most other cities, San Bernardino doesn’t allow commercial uses in residential neighborhoods without a permit. Until now, the city’s municipal code did not address the problems associated with short-term rental properties
Although they’re not close to being the money-makers that hotels and motels are, short-term rentals -which are sometimes used for extended, raucous gatherings – do have a place in California’s tourism industry.
An “STR” can generate $33,000 to $84,000 a year depending on its size and location, according to rabbu.com, a real estate platform that helps investors find short-term rentals.
However, if they’re not regulated properly, short-term rentals can cause serious problems, including noise, traffic, and parking issues. That has led some some municipalities to impose strict regulations, including one Inland Empire city known internationally for tourism.
In 2022, Palm Springs passed an ordinance requiring owners of short-term rentals to secure a city permit, renew it every year and abide by a 20 percent limit on those businesses in any neighborhood.
The 20 percent limit allows a neighborhood to maintain its residential character. Once that threshold is reached, the city stops issuing short-term permits for that neighborhood.
San Bernardino has received numerous complaints about its short-term rentals, according to a staff report.
Those complaints include:
- Parking violations and blocked driveways in surrounding neighborhoods;
- Public drinking and lewd acts in vehicles;
- Street fights and disturbances with neighbors;
- Loud music from residences and attendee vehicles;
- Arguments and confrontations with nearby residents;
- Reports of attendees being charged admission;
- Leaving alcohol bottles/cans and/or trash in streets, gutters, and residential properties.
Anyone who violates the ban will receive a cease-and-desist order and could be fined up to $1,000 a day if they refuse to comply. The fines will escalate, and the $1,000 ceiling could be revised, said Jeff Kraus, city spokesman.
Those fines will be the only revenue generated by the ordinance. Because most property owners are expected to comply with the regulations, not many fines are expected to be levied, Kraus said.
“One hundred and eight properties isn’t that many in a city the size of San Bernardino,” Kraus said. “We don’t expect (the ordinance) to produce a significant amount of revenue.”
San Bernardino does need to solve its short-term rental problems, but those issues probably can be solved by one or two code enforcement officers, according to Sanchez.
“I think passing an ordinance makes a big splash, but we’re giving up something,” Sanchez said. “I think the more we tell people how they can or can’t use their property, the less likely it is they’ll come to San Bernardino.
“We lose a lot when we chip away at our own property rights.”
Sanchez understands why four of his colleagues voted the other way.
“I think some of my colleagues probably have (constituents) whose quality of life has been impacted by the short-term rental next door to them, and I empathize with that,” Sanchez said. “I can see how one bad actor could cause a lot of problems, and that the quality of life in a neighborhood could be affected.
“But I also think it’s a small percentage of people who are causing the problems.”
San Bernardino would be better off pursuing people who rent out their houses without a business license, one resident declared.
“If you’re looking for revenue, do that,” Mike Hartley, who supports the ban, told the council. “Why don’t we fine all of the slumlords? We’d be rolling in (money) if we did that.”
A citywide ban on short-term rentals is the only way to deal with a complex and difficult problem, according to Shorett.
“A ban means everyone has to follow the same rule,” Shorett said. “I’m sorry for the hosts who do a good job, and who only want to supplement their incomes, but we’re not Palm Springs or the Coachella Valley. We should have banned short-term rentals a long time ago.”
