Known short-term rental complex on Abbott Street in OB. The building once held affordable units.
Today, Tuesday, May 17, the San Diego City Council will make history by voting in new regulations for short term vacation rentals. It’s been a long haul — some say 7 years the battle over STVRs has been going on in the city.
Once the the Coastal Commission approved the new rules by a 12-0 vote in March of this year, it was a green light for Jen Campbell’s proposal to go back before council for its final approval.
Campbell, in fact, at this moment, is out in Mission Beach celebrating its passage. Mission Beach is special for Campbell, as it gets a “carve out” with a 30% cap of the neighborhood’s housing units, which is about 1,100 STRs for that area.
Under the new regulations, whole-home rentals will be capped at 1% of the city’s total 540,000 housing units. Altogether, about 6,500 licenses will be available. Two-year licenses will be allocated through a lottery system with only one allowed per person. The new rules could go into effect as early as this fall.
There would be no limit on the number of licenses given out to anyone who wants to rent out their whole home for less than 20 days per year or to anyone who wants to rent out just part of their home.
As part of the plan, all those STVRs not in compliance and for all those property owners who don’t get licenses, all those residential units should theoretically return to the market. And with the market flooded with all those units now available for long-term rents, the average rent per unit should drop … right? Don’t hold your breath.