City Leaders To Look At New Zoning Rules For Short-Term Rentals
City Leaders To Look At New Zoning Rules For Short-Term Rental Properties
Source: (Photo: Chris Davis/WIBC)
INDIANAPOLIS — In recent years more people living in Indianapolis are having to call the cops complaining about disruptive behavior or illegal activity happening at people renting out homes on a short-term basis.
The people renting these homes are doing so through apps like Airbnb or Vrbo.
Many people who live in Indianapolis who are fed up with the loud parties and disruptive behavior have banded together to push a proposed ordinance that would subject short-term rental property owners to new zoning requirements.
“A vast majority of short-term rental hosts are good, well-meaning Hoosiers who are trying to rent out and make Indianapolis a great home for our visitors,” said Dakota Pawlicki with the Coalition To Address Short-Term Rentals. “There is a significant number of bad actors, though, who are not managing their properties correctly.”
As of July, he said he had collected 145 complaints about 71 properties. Twenty-eight of those properties accounted for 100 of those reports.
Pawlicki tells WISH-TV that most of those bad actors are people who own the properties in question yet don’t even live in the state of Indiana. There are several out-of-state owners of rental properties in Indianapolis who are difficult to reach should the cops end up being called.
“A lot of these short-term rentals are owned by out-of-state property owners and when there is an issue, we can’t get a hold of them,” said Indy City-County Councilor Kristen Jones (D). “So law enforcement, it may take them 3-5 hours to get a hold of them and figure out a solution.”
The ordinance that she is sponsoring would subject all Airbnb or Vrbo owners to a brand new set of zoning requirements similar to those of a hotel. This would include registering your rental property with the city and acquiring a permit. The permit, which comes at a one-time $150 fee, will be voluntary until January 1st, 2025, at which time it will become mandatory.
The council will vote on the measure this evening. It has the full support of Airbnb, which said in a statement:
“Home sharing has been an integral part of the fabric of Indianapolis for years, allowing the city to welcome visitors whose spending supports local businesses and creates economic opportunities for residents. We are supportive of the proposed ordinance, which protects responsible home sharing and enables Indianapolis to benefit from the growing opportunities around tourism.”
