Short term rental or short term friendship with the mayor?
First off, I agree with the city, a ‘short term rental’ like AirBnB should be just that, a rental. For it to be considered a Bed & Breakfast it has to have a ‘service’ kitchen that serves food to the renters that needs to be inspected by the health department. Since it does not, it is pretty much like any other apartment, but just for a shorter time. But this could ruffle the feathers of your homeowner neighbors who ARE not short term renters.
The rules seem simple. The state requires a tax license;
Beginning Sept. 1, Airbnb will begin collecting and remitting state and municipal taxes on all eligible bookings in South Dakota.
The City of Sioux Falls requires rental registration;
Short Term rental properties (such as Airbnb, VRBO, etc.)
This all makes sense, taxes paid, registrations in check.
But here is where it gets a little ‘sticky’ and all that ‘transparency’ thingy a lot of council candidates like to talk about lately. This story from 2015 paints another picture;
“A bed and breakfast requires a Conditional Use Permit and approval of the Planning Commission for that permit to be approved,” said Shawna Goldammer, Sioux Falls Zoning Enforcement Manager.
Goldammer says an Airbnb is considered a bed and breakfast. Chances are, Airbnb hosts are unknowingly operating illegally.
“What the ordinance does for us in Shape Places makes residential residential. So when you live in a residential area under a residential zoning district, you can expect residential in your neighborhood,” said Goldammer.
Like I said at the beginning, I don’t consider short term rentals a bed and breakfast. What I take issue with is that after Shape Places passed and Goldammer made these statements, somehow the rules disappeared into the night without any action from the city council . . . that I can find.
What is also very interesting is that council candidate and incumbent, Christine Erickson’s main business is ‘short term rentals’ and AirBnB. Please tell me the rules didn’t change quietly in the night after a secret handshake with our mayor and code enforcement?
The irony of this is that Erickson could have had a very public debate about it, and would have probably won and got citizen support. Or maybe not. Would you want to own a home next to a short term rental in a residential neighborhood? I have renters in my neighborhood, I don’t take issue with it, but it’s not a revolving door either.
I would really like to know how these rules just magically change when it affects a city councilor’s business and a mysteriously renewed friendship with the mayor.
Kind of like the Downtown Parking ramp deal, Erickson got a little back peddling to do.
If Airbnb is a rental, then wouldn’t that make a Lyft or Uber acquisition a car lease?
Instead of calling them rentals, Airbnb’s should be under their own category and subjected to the same Conditional Use Permit procedures as a Bed & Breakfast. So as to prevent the “revolving door” concern.
I think the real issue is not that a Council member appears to have been facilitated here, although that is a concern in itself, but that the neighborhoods are not being adequately protected from a “revolving door” nuisance.
VSG- You make a good point. Maybe it should be a different category? But what would the cut off be? Anything under 90 days? 30 days? I have had friends who had to rent a place for 4 months while selling one house and closing on another. Would that be considered short term? I don’t know? Like I said, there should have been a very public discussion about it. It just seems it went from being a Bed and Breakfast to all of sudden being a Short Term Rental overnight with no precedent.
Short term rentals are a way around paying city bed tax and state sales tax. Homes are on land that’s half the property tax than for commercial property. It’s better accommodations for far less money. Reservations are via out of state reservations systems that do not have to report to the city and state. Lessors are ‘guests’ that compensate with consideration in the form of money. Basically, this is a legal con. City zoning can try to tax this service but they have no grounds.
Incidentally, Uber is here. They ignored city regulation. LYFT tolerated city hearings and pays tax but they’ll eventually stop. To go after any of these computer oriented services takes state and federal action. It’s not going to happen. To much litigation expense. The future will be state income tax. Then, we move to Minnesota. There’s democrats and gun restrictions there.
As you can see from my links above they do have to pay a normal sales tax (4%) to state and local taxes, but I would be curious about a BID tax. I think you have to have so many rooms before that tax kicks in.
The bottom line is this an AirBnB is a motel or hotel and do you really want that next to your home in a residential area?
If an AirBnB opened up in my neighborhood I would fight it like hell.
AirBnBs should have two categories if they must exist: one for short term and an other for long term. The long term should only be allowed in commercial and mixed use areas.
AirBnBs should not drive our policy, rather protecting our neighborhoods, their quality and value, should be driving policy.
Leasors are supposed to pay sales tax but most do not. There’s no in state proof of the internet transaction. However, profit must be reported for federal income tax.
Here’s another secret:
Buy new expensive designer furniture for the rental that goes into your house. It’s expensed the first year. Put 2nd hand furniture in the rental.
Sounds like a $31,000 Carson dining table to me. Hey, blame it on your wife. Note to self, need a wife.
I don’t think anything magically changed.
By state law definition and Sioux Falls zoning definition a bed and breakfast provides somewhere to stay and also serves meals for a fee. A short term rental does not do that. It’s not a bed and breakfast. It never has been. I believe Ms Goldammer was simply incorrect when she said it was a BnB. It’s not. I believe these are currently unregulated, except for the sales tax requirement and maybe a rental registration. Certainly not a conditional use permit though. Its probably a good idea to look at whether it should be regulated, but as of now its not. I would assume the city figured out its not a BnB and simply hasn’t addressed it yet. Simple as that. It was unregulated before, and it is now. No change. I’d venture to say people are oblivious in most cases that there is a AirBnB type use at a home near them. In my experience its pretty tame and quiet. Might be even better than having a neighbor there who lives there full time with all of the annoyances that can come with that, like barking dogs and other stuff. But looking at whether it should have some regulation might be worth a discussion.
can winston change his name back?
long winded dummy
fr. room 101
IaAl
obg menno sd
This may be awhile after the fact but it still applies to the comments above so, I would like to be considered under this post mainly because it sounds like all who are commenting on this are non-owners and may not actually understand what’s involved with the Airbnb. First off it is “short term†but there is also a bed and breakfast option. We don’t have to have something cooked for guests. The convenience is that they can do it themselves. They choose to stay “short term†and get their own groceries then the health risk is on them in a way. The house itself is cleaned daily-dish soap, germ killing cleaners and things of the like. If someone as a host is doing these things with out cleaning properly then the guest has the right to report and get that Airbnb shut down. As far as the tax side. We pay our own property taxes and then we get taxed for the Airbnb and it gets remitted to the state. All seems fair in that perspective. If depending on the type of stay—long term, short term, BnB and taxes need to be adjusted accordingly to those types, then I agree with that. But it should be nothing like a hotel chain. We don’t have the same capacity so it should all be subjunctive to what we can offer as a host with a small house.