Trying to gather information as our property’s permit was recently up for renewal (today) so I sent in my check a few weeks ago. A few days ago it was returned to me from them along with a copy of the current mandate stating that STRs are currently banned through June 19th. I already knew this (my calendar is blocked through those days) but they provided no communication as to why they returned my check/won’t process my permit renewal. I’ve reached out to them but was curious if anyone happens to have any further information as to what’s going on?
Maybe they’re planning to adjust the renewal date based on how long STRs are banned (i.e. if STRs are banned for 10 weeks, they will extend your renewal date by 10 weeks).
Ya maybe…but it would be nice to know with some certainty 
It was strange to me to return my check with zero communication as to why. My friend happened to talk to the lady that manages the program (she’s not employed by the county, but acts as an independent contractor), and she was giving all sorts of weird messaging such as they’re aiming for September open date, most people weren’t sent the renewal notification and that ‘Your friend (me) must have been lying [about receiving the notice]’. She also mentioned that the whole state of CA is trying to shut down STRs, but I have a feeling she doesn’t really know what she’s talking about.
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I mailed my check yesterday as well as my TOT tax, curious to see if it comes back.
RR
I’m curious too! I emailed Cindy and the TOT email address I had but haven’t heard anything back yet.
It seems ass backwards to not renew permits. I will keep sending back the check if they return it. The issuance of a permit does not override the county health dept order. Where is your listing @MelissaMH ? I am in Idyllwild
SO BACKWARDS! It makes no sense to me - the two things are not related. It also just seems so time consuming, and a waste of paper, lol. Then again, this department within the county is pretty behind the times so I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Our place is in Temecula wine country 
I am out here… I asked the dept for my money back for the months I am unable to rent and they said “no”, haha. It was funny. I am not going to renew I don’t think. I’ve been living here for the time being. I am in PS. The city did cash my TOT for March.
Just curious, are you going to stop renting out there? We’ve thought about looking into LTR but are not sure how our particular home (out in wine country vs. within the city of Temecula) would do.
My friend was told by the STR rep that Riverside Co. is apparently looking into banning STRs altogether because of ‘all of the work’ and ‘all of the complaints’ they get. No idea if that’s true or not, but a little concerning regardless.
I don’t know if I want to. it’s a shame because it was a lot of money to get going, between jumping through hoops with forms, payments, inspections and repairs, it was not a small effort.
I have had a mix of guests, and I’ve enjoyed hosting, but I feel quite uneasy when people are in the home. It’s an older home and I have had some abusive guests. People showing up with unannounced children, people inviting unannounced people to stay the night after checking-in… People running all the utilities constantly and unnecessarily. I know that’s renting, but it’s a lot of wear and tear on my home, and even though it pays for itself, I don’t think it was getting the rates it should have been considering everyone was trying to squeeze another dime out of it - whether it be in utils, or adding people, or doing five loads of laundry over a 3 night stay… It may pay for itself but it wouldn’t pay for a new AC system.
There are SO many rentals available here, the spring is great and you can do quite well, but ultimately, everyone is looking for a deal.
I don’t think they would ban STR here. The city makes WAY too much money on the TOT and the permit. If you look at the numbers, it’s grown immensely over the years. I don’t know what will come of it from COVID, but I can say that if none of this happened, my house would likely be booked and I’d be raking in the spring $$$. That said, this is probably for the best because I’d rather use the house myself.
LTR is tough here. Most people only want spring. You could get a month here and there, but again, everyone is looking for a deal. I had one person who wanted a month for 6k, but she was playing me against other properties and telling me all the great deals, trying to get me to undercut. Finally, I told her “if the deals are so great, take one!”. I can make more just renting weekends - but yeah, the weekend people tend to hang around the house the entire weekend and make messes. haha, i sound so whiny. Maybe if I rent again, I will just get a PM so I am less aware but I don’t trust people and the last time this house was managed, they let it fall apart.
That’s what House Rules are for. To make it clear that if they show up with unannounced people they will have to leave with no refund. And then remind them of it with Air messages several times so that CS will support you when they see the message trail. If you let them get away with it they will always walk all over you. The way to avoid it is to make clear what behavior is not allowed and the consequences and then enforce it.
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It seems to me that Airbnb has a negative reputation and Airbnb hasn’t done enough to counteract that. Covid 19 is a great excuse for governments to put in more regulation including outright bans under the guise of safety.
The time that happened the people said the children were under 24 months, which to Airbnb means they don’t count and I must accommodate them. I wasn’t going to ask for proof even though I didn’t buy it. After that, I specifically asked people immediately following booking if they were bringing children.
It doesn’t matter. All that aside, I don’t know if I want to do it again right away. In the future perhaps. My permit will expire while all this is happening. Totally unfair that I lost 4 months of a $1000 one year permit.
Wow! That’s expensive. Palm Springs’ STR program is operated by the city, right? Not the county? Our permit is only $100 for the year! I would have rather paid the maybe extra $20 to not worry about mailing it back in 6 weeks haha, but I can totally see now why you would ask for a refund! Are you guys shut down until June 19th like the county is mandating?
Yes, it’s a city permit specific to here, and yes we are still within the Riverside rules too and banned from renting, and they have a 5k fine for people who violate but I am certain they aren’t enforcing it as much as they could be (though they sent an email saying they’ve given five 5k fines but I think that’s a drop in the bucket personally). One of my friends told me all the properties he works at are rented to STR tenants. They should really give us the 85 a month or whatever back to account for the loss of use in the permit. I requested it but they said “no”… It’s too expensive. We also have an 11.5% city TOT tax. Not sure if that’s all throughout the county but it adds up to a lot.
@MelissaMH I have been thinking about this and I plan to contact supervisor Chuck Washington if my permit check gets returned. He is very approachable and I am going to point out that by summarily denying permits they are denying us the ability to operate legally. I will point out the legal exceptions to the county health order and give examples of how I have been in compliance and have been housing essential workers.
Of course my check has not been sent back yet so I have time to draft my email:)
RR
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That is a great idea! I’m curious to see if yours gets returned as well.
I had reached out to the RCTTCTOT@ email address as well as Cindy last week but haven’t heard anything. On top of the fact that the permitting has nothing to do with the mandate, it just is so strange to me that there is such little communication. I’m assuming I’ll have to resend the check at some point, but I have no idea! And what if I don’t get the notification to resend, will they make me reapply altogether? (This happened to my friend/neighbor a few years ago).
It looks like the board of supervisors will be voting tomorrow night to rescind the county health orders which include the ban on STR until June19 . At that point we will still be under the state stay at home order which I need to read up on.
RR
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Oh ok, that’s good to know. My guess is that ‘voluntary/non-essential travel’ is likely still not allowed, even if STRs are allowed to operate. Will be keeping an eye on that as well.
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I saw the email said they would allow 30 day rentals again. For a while it’s been 60+ only.