The proposed ordinance on “short term rentals” is on the agenda for the Tuesday, May 2 Greensboro City Council meeting in the Katie Dorsett Council Chamber beginning at 5:30 p.m.
The first meeting of the month is usually reserved for the monthly public comment period, also called speakers from the floor on non-agenda items, when people can speak on the topic of their choosing, resolutions and non-controversial items.
It is rare to have a controversial topic such as the short term rental ordinance, which will regulate Airbnb and VBRO type rentals, on the agenda for the first meeting of the month.
The current Greensboro Land Development Ordinance does not define short term rentals and they are currently being regulated under the Tourist Home/Bed and Breakfast category, which was not designed to address the Airbnb and VRBO type rentals.
The proposed ordinance defines short term rentals and divides them into two categories: Homestay Short Term Rentals, which involve renting a portion of a residential property that is the primary residence of the host who must be on-site during the rental, and Whole House Short Term Rentals, which involve renting an entire residence for a minimum of two nights.
According to the proposed ordinance, short term rentals will only be allowed in residential dwelling units and a zoning permit will be required. A special use permit will no longer be required for a short term rental unit.
The regulations that will apply to short term rental units include a maximum of two adults per rented bedroom, no publicly announced or promoted events that involve more than two times the number of guests, no exterior signage advertising short term rentals, and that hosts of whole house short term rentals must live in Guilford County or a directly adjacent county. The hosts must post their contact information in a prominent location in the rental space and be readily accessible throughout the rental period.
The application process for short term rentals has not been developed, but if the ordinance passes, it will be developed and posted on the city website.
It’s estimated that there are currently more than 600 short term rental units being advertised in Greensboro, but because short term rentals are not required to have a special zoning permit the City of Greensboro doesn’t have the means to identify all the short term rentals in the city.
Hi John,
I STRONGLY feel that it shouldn’t be allowed in a residential neighborhood as no one renting use of that property pays taxes on it, pays utilities on it or gets their mail at that property so by default it operates as a commercial property and is a transient “Hotel” which is not zoned in a residential community.
People renting Short Stays are NOT invested in your community, care about where your children play or what happens to your property values. They dont care if they disturb your peace, leave trash piled up, want to sell drugs out of the property all hours of the night, block your street, scare the older neighbors etc because while they are there its ALL ABOUT THEM they PAID for it! Hotels have hired security-Short Stays dont!
– Transient housing allows a greater number of people into a community creating the opportunity for traffic problems, more eyes on what neighbors have and when they are home, noise violations, garbage violations,Drug sales etc. We have seen it happen in our neighborhood on more than 1 occasion.
-Our police are already understaffed and overwhelmed. How will these homes help ease that burden? There is no way for you to check on the person(s) staying in these homes. Are they felons, child molesters,do they have a criminal record? No way to check that out online.
-Who wants to buy a house next to a Short Stay and would they pay full market value? For many this represents their hard earned lifetime investment. The owner of the Short Stay just took how much of that from you?
If it should pass the following should apply…
-Owner/Property mgr must live within close proximity to the property(30 minutes) and IN Guilford Co not an adjacent Co. They need to be quick to respond when an incident is happening not after the fact.Keep in mind any problems that arise will not have a speedy response or resolution even if a complaint is filed or a violation happens which puts the burden on the community not the owner who will keep on getting paid while not being responsible.
-There must be notice of the property use and contact information of Owner/Mgr to neighbors within 400′ in any direction. If adjacent neighbors are being disturbed/abused by short stay tenants why should the owner/manager get to have peace and quiet? They are the ones collecting the $$ not the neighbors.
-There may not be more than 1 such property within 6 houses in any direction. This is to try and keep character and property values of the community as residential.
I urge all residential communities to stand up and fight against Short Stay properties in your neighborhood on May 2nd at the Council meeting because once this is out of the bag and allowed it will be too late. Do you think the City Council will fix it then? Bet they will sleep well at night even if you dont.
Kathy McKeithan
I understand the situation where an Airbnb is a constant blight on a neighborhood. There should be a way to deal with that, similar laws that shut down a bar due to constant violations. And, I get that too many in a neighborhood can change the neighborly community. I am hoping there is some reasonable solution that does allow these short term rentals. It’s a great option for families or say, single women who travel and would prefer to stay in a neighborhood to attend a wedding, graduation or business travel. That beats staying at a motel. And, we had damage to our Greensboro home that we had to move out for about a week while all the floors were sanded and finished. We found an airbnb in Kirkwood with a fenced back yard that accommodated our family and dogs in a safe, comfortable and affordable manner. This isn’t all about parties and drug deals nor is it just NIMBY. I hope there can be a workable compromise.
Isn’t this proposed ordinance a gross invasion of property owners rights? Just a overreaching government bloating itself on the backs of small business? More regulations in the most business unfriendly city in the state? Unfair to polyamorous groups that sleep more than two to a bedroom? Desperate grab for money to replace cratered hotel taxes?
About time. Only 5 years behind. Must be an Air BNB in Irving park now.
Obviously you do not live near one. The Airbnb in our neighborhood has an owner who rents to a regular renter who then sublets through Airbnb. Some weekends its fine, others it is not. We have the home owner’s cell phone number and have texted during parties. She does not care and does not answer the text. She owns numerous rental houses in Greensboro and does the bare minimum upkeep (2-3 houses in our neighborhood). She is basically a higher class slum lord. She lives in a $800,000 in Lake Jeanette.
I am all for personal property rights. But a lot of Airbnb’s are rented by people who advertise house parties on social media. I do not pay 30% higher property taxes this year to live beside that. People that want to have a large scale party can rent an event space. Oh that’s right-event spaces won’t rent for that purpose-they know the damage that will occur.
Below is the email I have sent to my mayor and city council members. I am struggling to make sense of how my elected officials are creating regulations that impact the length of stay I can offer to renters while providing substandard housing to their own tenants. Our City Council members likely hold their rentals in an LLC which makes it more difficult to locate but I do know they are in fact attempting to create regulations on rentals with a conflict of interest. Additionally, I know that two of the properties that I own were previously rented for traditional lengths of time, twelve months or more and were in such blighted condition that they required significant rehab to bring them up to a livable standard. I do not agree that these proposed regulations should only apply based on length of stay, but should apply to all rentals of any length of stay.
Dear Mayor Vaughan and City Council Members,
I hope this email finds you well. I am writing as a concerned homeowner in the Idlewood neighborhood to express my disagreement with the proposed regulations for short-term rentals in Greensboro. I believe that these regulations unfairly target short-term rental providers and limit my rights as a homeowner in a neighborhood without an HOA.
My family and I specifically chose to purchase our home in this neighborhood to avoid the restrictive nature of an HOA-governed community. We have invested time, effort, and resources into improving our property, transforming it from the blighted condition left by the previous traditional length-of-stay landlord. Our efforts have not only enhanced the appearance of our home but have also contributed positively to the overall appearance and safety of the neighborhood.
The proposed regulations for short-term rentals appear to impose more stringent rules on property owners like myself, compared to those governing traditional rental properties. I believe that if the City of Greensboro is genuinely committed to addressing issues related to blighted homes and disrespectful neighbors, all housing providers should be held to the same regulations, regardless of the rental length.
Furthermore, I would like to bring to your attention a potential conflict of interest in the deliberation of these proposed regulations. It has come to my knowledge that some City Council members are housing providers themselves. To ensure fairness and transparency in the decision-making process, I kindly request that any Council member with a vested interest in the outcome recuse themselves from the deliberations and voting on this issue.
Creating a separate and more restrictive set of rules for short-term rentals undermines the principle of equal treatment for all homeowners and housing providers. Every resident in our city, irrespective of their rental duration, deserves a minimum standard of housing that is enforced equally across all types of rentals.
I kindly request that the City Council reconsider the proposed regulations and ensure that all housing providers are subject to the same rules, promoting fairness and protecting the rights of homeowners in neighborhoods without an HOA.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. I trust that you will take my concerns into account when deliberating on the proposed regulations. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or require further information.
Sincerely,
Joy Watson and Eric Hunsucker
My family and I specifically chose to purchase our home in this neighborhood to avoid the restrictive nature of an HOA-governed community. We have invested time, effort, and resources into improving our property, transforming it from the blighted condition left by the previous traditional length-of-stay landlord. Our efforts have not only enhanced the appearance of our home but have also contributed positively to the overall appearance and safety of the neighborhood.
The proposed regulations for short-term rentals appear to impose more stringent rules on property owners like myself, compared to those governing traditional rental properties. I believe that if the City of Greensboro is genuinely committed to addressing issues related to blighted homes and disrespectful neighbors, all housing providers should be held to the same regulations, regardless of the rental length.
Furthermore, I would like to bring to your attention a potential conflict of interest in the deliberation of these proposed regulations. It has come to my knowledge that some City Council members are housing providers themselves. To ensure fairness and transparency in the decision-making process, I kindly request that any Council member with a vested interest in the outcome recuse themselves from the deliberations and voting on this issue.
Creating a separate and more restrictive set of rules for short-term rentals undermines the principle of equal treatment for all homeowners and housing providers. Every resident in our city, irrespective of their rental duration, deserves a minimum standard of housing that is enforced equally across all types of rentals.
I kindly request that the City Council reconsider the proposed regulations and ensure that all housing providers are subject to the same rules, promoting fairness and protecting the rights of homeowners in neighborhoods without an HOA.
People, in general, would prefer to live next door to my short-term rental than a long-term eye sore. I believe our City Council Members voting on this issue have skin in this game. Has anyone requested members of our city council who own rentals, to recuse themself from voting? Does anyone care that Greensboro has turned a blind eye to the traditional rental landlords who own/manage blighted slums? Can we really regulate rentals based on length of stay? A disrespectful tenant of any length is equally problematic. Length of stay is not the determining factor of the problem, so why are our city council members not looking at the issue in a holistic way? Maybe because many of our elected public servants own rental properties themself?