Most Airbnbs rentals to be banned in South Lake Tahoe

It’s official: https://www.rgj.com/story/money/business/2018/12/06/most-airbnb-vacation-home-rentals-banned-south-lake-tahoe/2233124002/

Frankly, a ban that doesn’t take effect for 3 years is like no ban at all. So many things could happen in 3 years and the “ban” could be overturned by then.

I imagine the 3 years is to prevent a massive sell off of secondary homes. I wonder if the majority of these rentals that remain will now go underground.

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Bummer. I have to admit if this happened in our market we would switch to long term rental, which is probably what they want.

It’s true. The risk is that in most vacation rental spots such as Tahoe, it would be very difficult to find a long term tenant for large homes that would cover the mortgage, I imagine many would be forced to sell. I think there is an entire eco system that people who want to ban STRs want to ignore. And in the case of tourists, I know if my parents couldn’t rent an entire home they would just go somewhere else.

I’m in the process of being divorced (unwanted, not my idea, I love him) and so will need to put a room up for rent this coming summer. Since my HOA’s do not allow any STR’s, that all rentals must be 30 days plus, my go to will be Traveling Nurses. I’ve joined 4 FB groups for traveling nurses, and boy oh boy do I see alot of requests for Tahoe! More than Medford OR where I’ll be ending up living. Many of the landlords advertise on Air because its free, and the nurses know how to scan the listings for their upcoming 13 week assignments. They then contact the landlords directly to inquire about their temp stay.

Just a thought. btw: I didn’t read the posted article, but I have read about it in the online Sacramento papers.

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Sorry to read this. I hope Airbnb income can help out.

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We have been to the Tahoe area twice and love it, but we always stay in a home. I doubt we will ever go back now.

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I can understand the desire for the ban, and surely this will cause some mess in real estate…?

Last winter I went to South Lake with friends, I just tagged along and wasn’t involved in any planning. They rented an Airbnb house. It was HUGE. (I’m from SF, so maybe I’m just used to houses in the city) but we had 12 people staying there. 1 couple/bedroom and it had 6 bedrooms, at least 3 full bathrooms.

But the garage had 2 spaces, and barely 2 spaces in the driveway. We just squeezed in the 6 cars. This is in a quiet residential neighboorhood, and we’re adults and reasonable. But just the noise of people coming and going, cars leaving and returning disturbs a quiet place.

On the other hand…what else is a 6/3 house made for in a city with only tourism as the economy?

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It will definitely be informative to see the impact of a real vacation/resort town banning vacation rentals. Places like Monterey and Santa Monica ban them but the coast and major metros have other industries that they rely on.

I hear property values have been steadily dropping in South Lake Tahoe since they started issuing $2,000 parking tickets. You guys are lucky because 6 cars would now be considered illegal.