Seattle Enacts New Regulationson Short-Term Rentals
Sean Martin | External Affairs Director
Seattle Council passed long-awaited regulations of the short-term rental industry as one of its final legislative actions in 2017.
The new law will require all short-term rental operators to obtain a special rental license, in addition to a regular business license, and restricts existing operators across most of the city to short-term renting no more than two units — three if also renting space in their primary residence. The new license will cost $75 per unit annually.
Councilmembers were quoted as saying the new limits are intended to prevent business people from taking large numbers of units out of the available housing market, and from converting existing apartments in to de-facto hotels.
Only one group of existing operators are allowed to continue their short-term business as usual, determined by the location of the rentals. Operators renting spaces in the downtown core and small buildings constructed after 2012 on First Hill and Capitol Hill are grandfathered in and can continue to list as many units as they had prior to September 30, 2017.
Also new are taxes for short-term rentals, passed by Council in November as it continued to negotiate the finer points of the new regulations. Charges are set at $14 a night for entire homes, and $8 a night for room rentals.
Operators will be required to include the license number on any listing advertising the property for use as a short-term rental, as well as posting basic safety information for unit guests, sign a declaration that the unit meets current building and safety codes, and provide a local contact number for guests.
A short-term rental is defined as a booked stay of 29 consecutive nights or fewer. A stay of 30 nights or more is considered a long-term rental and is not covered by this regulation.
It’s estimated that the new regulations will remove 400–700 units from the short-term rental market in the city.
The new rules begin January 1, 2019. For more helpful information about rental housing visit us at RHAWA.org
