To Rent or Not To Rent

Santa Fe City Council's next step in the continuing saga over what to do about the increase in illegal short-term rentals is just about anybody's guess. But a memo sent to officials on Dec. 2 by the city's Current Planning Division shows that the City Different is losing an estimated $2.5 million a year by not allowing more short-term rentals on the market.

The memo confirms what's been bandied about for years: Hundreds of short-term rentals are flying under the radar, in violation of city law, which allows only 350 short-term rentals per year. And staff admit that the city is failing at enforcing the law; they recommend that Santa Fe lift its cap on rentals because of "demand for short-term rental permits that is not met by the current regulations."

It's an issue that cuts both ways. Some neighbors don't like that their narrow streets have been turned into a landscape of bed and breakfasts, with tourists constantly coming and going, not only causing congestion and sucking up parking but also upsetting the quiet of their communities. Conversely, other property owners who want to earn money off their part-time, secondary vacant units have decided to take the matter into their own hands, successfully advertising on various travel websites and, presumably, filling them and making money off them.

All of which leaves the city in a quandary. Staff, with the help of Southwest Planning, a third-party analysis firm, concluded that there were roughly 2,700 short-term rentals, as advertised on Airbnb, VRBO, Home Away, Flip Key, Rental by Owner and Craigslist. But because some of the units were advertised on multiple sites, city officials conservatively reduced the total number to 600.

Santa Fe Reporter