Tuesday night, the Bozeman City Commission overwhelmingly passed the first reading of a proposed ordinance that would require short-term rentals to sell their license on online platforms. This was passed with the support of renters and owners who own short-term rentals.
“This is a good start because it's something we can actually control,” said Amelia Thompson a leader in Bozeman Tenants United.
Tuesday night the city commission voted 3-0 to pass the first reading of a proposed ordinance requiring more oversight on licensing for short-term rentals in the city.
“It requires the platforms VRBO and Airbnb to obtain a valid license number, a permit number from the city prior to allowing it to be advertised,” said Deputy Mayor Terry Cunningham.
Dozens of people also turned out in support of the ordinance from those who own short-term rentals to Bozeman Tenants United, the group pushing for a ban on type 2 and type 3 short-term rentals.
“The folks who have legitimate license testers supported it,” said Cunningham.
The city says passing this ordinance will give them a better idea of how many short-term rentals actually operate in the city.
“The problem we’re dealing with, is we did not have the data of how many short-term rentals there were,” said Cunningham.
The City estimates that there are 533 short-term rentals in the city, of those only 253 of them are registered with the city meaning they have a 47% compliance rate. City and community leaders say this will give everyone a better idea of how many short-term rentals are actually operating.
“Gives them a better picture and give us a better picture to of, you know, what the numbers actually are,” said Thompson.
For those who are not in compliance if the ordinance takes effect, the city will fine owners $500 per day.
“We think that that's a significant enough penalty to get people's attention and get them into compliance,” said Cunningham.
In the next step in the process, the City Commission will hold its second reading of this ordinance on July 11. If that passes on that date, then this ordinance will take effect 30 days after on August 10.
