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Tag: rental units

Va. localities crack down on short-term rentals

RICHMOND, Va. — Several Virginia municipalities have recently drafted or passed ordinances to regulate short-term rentals.

Scrutiny of short-term rentals mirrors a nationwide trend. Companies like Airbnb and Vrbo have become popular lodging options for tourists, as well as people in need of temporary housing.

Municipalities have pushed back against the rental options for reasons that include parking issues, noise complaints, trash and septic tank use volume. Supervisors have also cited concern over loss of hospitality tax revenue, as well as limiting available housing inventory.

Approximately 30 localities throughout the U.S. have regulated short-term rentals, according to a Business Insider report.

Most Virginia short-term rentals are found in more populous areas and tourist destinations, according to Capital News Service analysis of the market research site AirDNA.

Louisa County

The Louisa County Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance earlier this month to add restrictions for short-term rentals and establish the zoning districts where they are allowed.

Rental owners must provide documentation of septic system inspections and repairs to the county. The renter must have the owner’s contact information as part of the new policy. One parking space per bedroom is now required. The changes don’t take effect until Jan. 1, 2025.

Citizens told county supervisors they are concerned about the septic tank failures caused by over-occupied rentals. The new occupancy restrictions hope to limit the impact on septic systems and prevent failures.

Rentals became a hot topic in Louisa due to Lake Anna tourism. There are fewer short-term rentals than in a city like Richmond or Alexandria, but the rentals are entire homes, and a majority larger than three bedrooms, according to AirDNA data.

Short-term rentals spiked in Louisa by 130% over a three-year period, according to AirDNA, with peak occupancy in the warmer months. There are just under 60 rentals, a fraction of offerings in larger cities.

Residents are worried about the water quality due to septic failures.

“We need to be inspecting these septic systems and particularly the ones where they are being overloaded in rentals,” said Phillip Winston, a Mineral resident who spoke at the meeting.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality added Lake Anna to the state’s impaired, or “dirty” waters list last year, due to algae blooms. Parts of the lake have been closed multiple times due to the blooms.

The Lake Anna Civic Association recommended that occupancy be limited to two guests per bedroom to reduce the risk of septic tank damage, according to its website. The Louisa Planning Commission advised county leaders to require conditional use permits for short-term rentals, which would have regulated occupancy.

The Board did not pass that as part of the new ordinance.

Part of Lake Anna is in Spotsylvania County. Spotsylvania has drafted its own ordinance similar to Louisa.

Richmond

There are over 1,000 listed units in Richmond as of September, an increase of 76% in a three-year period, according to AirDNA data. However, the majority of the units in Virginia are not operated legally, according to a VPM review of city permits in June.

Richmond City Council recently passed a long debated ordinance that put several new regulations on short-term rentals, including reducing the number of rentals allowed on a lot in residential zoned areas.

Other ordinance changes now require the rental to be located at the host’s primary residence in all residential-zoned districts and limit the maximum occupancy of a rental from 10 to eight people.

City leaders also extended the length of a short-term rental certificate to 730 days. And voted to allow homeowners to build an accessory dwelling unit, within parameters, without a permit. These are smaller units like an in-law suite or carriage house.

The changes will help create a “convenient, attractive, and harmonious community” by limiting the number of transient visitors in residential neighborhoods, according to city planners.

Only homeowners can offer short-term rentals, something that 1st District City Councilmember Andreas Addison said there is confusion about.

He heard from several renters upset that they would be unable to generate money from renting out their apartments.

“You can not rent out your rented apartment,” Addison said. It could be cause for eviction.

Richmond increased regulations because of disturbances to residents, such as parking, trash and late-night noise, according to Addison.

“Short-term rentals I do see as a potential cause of nuisance because if you are not an owner of that house, and you’re renting it out, you don’t really care about the neighborhood,” Addison said. “You’re just there for the money.”

Caroline McDonald is a physical therapy student who plans to use Airbnb during the four months she is temporarily placed at a Richmond hospital. She used Airbnb because of the ease of rental process, which is a monthly payment with an advance deposit.

“Someone still lives there, but I’m just detached from their house,” McDonald said.

Most rentals will primarily come from pre-existing additions, because of the costs of building a unit solely for a short-term rental, according to Addison.

“I feel like a lot of the concerns and objections being raised and elevated have a place of legitimacy, but I also think they may be a little excessive,” Addison said.

Tourism was a metric that Council heavily considered when passing the ordinance.

“We can’t expect people that are going to come to visit the James River with a kayak and a bike to stay in a hotel,” Addison said.

Hampton

Hampton City Council halted short-term rental permits in August. The decision gives the city time to receive legal guidance and consider its regulatory options, according to Hampton Mayor Donnie Tuck. The pause allows for public input on how to move forward without acting on new permits, Tuck said.

Nearby Virginia Beach, a popular tourist destination, has one of the highest short-term rental listing numbers in the state at over 2,000, per market data.

Danville

Danville has seen an over 800% increase in short-term rental listings in a three-year period, according to AirDNA. The market research indicates there are currently 154 listings. Caesars casino partially opened in Danville this year, with a full opening slated for 2024.

The Danville Planning Commission recently recommended capping the number of rentals allowed in the city, along with other regulations. A public hearing about the commission’s proposals will take place on Nov. 13

Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Media and Culture. Students in the program provide state government coverage for a variety of media outlets in Virginia.

Housing reform bills saw mixed success in General Assembly

Legislative efforts to tackle spiking eviction notices, housing and utility costs were mostly shot down during the Virginia General Assembly session.

Almost 193,000 eviction filings have been made in Virginia since March 2020. The monthly-updated data comes from the Princeton Eviction Lab, a group that makes nationwide eviction data public to increase awareness about housing, eviction and poverty. Not all eviction filings lead to an eviction, according to the lab. Among the 10 states tracked by the lab, Virginia ranks second, behind Pennsylvania.

Eviction filings and judgments are below pre-pandemic levels in Virginia, but Alexandria and the city of Richmond surpassed pre-pandemic levels by 7% and 6%, respectively, from October to December 2022. That is according to a quarterly data report from the RVA Eviction Lab, an organization at Virginia Commonwealth University that gathers eviction data.

“Virginia renters and landlords deserve common-sense and clear rules of the road to ensure everyone gets money they’re owed and to prevent unnecessary evictions,” stated Congresswoman-elect Jennifer McClellan via a text statement, in reference to two housing bills. McClellan announced her resignation as a state senator, effective March 7.

Utility costs are also increasing, but the General Assembly passed legislation aimed to protect consumers from rate hikes.

Del. Lee Ware, R-Powhatan, introduced House Bill 1604, which allows the SCC to regulate utility rates when revenues exceed the utility’s authorized rate of return. This bill is identical to Senate Bill 1321, introduced by McClellan.

“The passage of HB 1604 and SB 1321 reflect the success of many efforts over the years to restore the authority of the SCC to lower electric rates when utilities overcharge customers,” stated Kajsa Foskey, economic justice outreach coordinator for the Virginia Poverty Law Center.

Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, had her bill SB 839 passed, which allows the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development director to conduct a comprehensive statewide housing needs assessment at least every five years. The director will develop a statewide housing plan with updates.

This bill is an important first step in documenting the need for affordable housing in Virginia, said co-patron Del. Kaye Kory, D-Fairfax. It could help the General Assembly be more willing to allocate more money to affordable housing, Kory said.

Failed housing and utility bills

Capital News Service also reached out to lawmakers and advocates to get their take on the legislation that did not advance.

 Bills to protect tenants that did not advance this session included:

 — SB 941: Required landlords to fully refund security deposits to tenants within 15 business days, instead of 45 business days of a move-out inspection — if the tenant attended the inspection and they don’t owe rent as of the inspection date. There must not be damages beyond wear and tear.

“I’m encouraged by the momentum and I hope to see them pass both chambers in coming years,” McClellan stated, about SB 1330 and SB 941.

— SB 1127: Assembled a work group to evaluate policies to protect vulnerable rental occupants if facing eviction for noncompliance. Sen. Joe Morrissey, D-Richmond, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

— SB 1141: Authorized any locality in Virginia to provide an affordable housing program by amending the locality’s zoning ordinance. The bill would help bring jobs and housing into balance to make them more accessible and affordable, said Kathryn Howell, associate professor and co-director of RVA Eviction Lab at Virginia Commonwealth University.

“We’ve got all these jobs for people who are earning … less than 60% of the area median income,” Howell said. “We want to have housing that matches that.”

— SB 1330: Increased from five days to 14 days the mandatory waiting period after a landlord serves a tenant a written “pay or quit” notice.

Emergency provisions were put in place during the pandemic to expand the waiting period. Advocates have made repeated efforts to make the mandatory waiting period permanent, said Laura Dobbs, a housing advocacy attorney with the Virginia Poverty Law Center.

— SB 1340: Prohibited a landlord from performing background and credit checks on a rental applicant unless the landlord met the outlined requirements. One requirement was an established written rental application policy that included a disclosure of all nonrefundable application fees and deposits.

— SB 1447: The SCC would establish limitations on the authority of investor-owned utilities to disconnect service for nonpayment of bills or fees during a statewide emergency declared by the governor, during temperature weather extremes, or on a Friday, weekend, state holiday, or day immediately before a state holiday.

“During instances of public emergency … everyone needs access to water, everyone needs access to heat in a snowstorm, everyone needs access to AC during a heatwave,” said Sheila Herlihy Hennessee, faith organizer with the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy. The organization primarily lobbies in support of racial, social, and economic justice policies.

It is more efficient to keep people in their homes and “protect folks where they are,” Herlihy Hennessee said.

— HB 1532 is similar to SB 1278: Allowed localities to adopt rent stabilization provisions.

Despite the bills failing, “at least we were able to … start having that conversation about out of control rent in Virginia,” Dobbs said.

Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax, did not respond to multiple requests for comment about SB 1278.

— HB 1875: Delayed utility disconnection for residential customers with certain serious medical conditions and households including residents under 12 months old, over 65 years old, or with disabilities.

This bill would directly benefit all consumers, said Foskey, with the Virginia Poverty Law Center. Utility shut-off data should be more accessible to see who is being affected, because it is an essential measure for consumer protection, she said.

Change takes time, Kory said. Even if a bill is only heard in a subcommittee, it is a good first step. The information being shared could still help change legislators’ minds, she said.

“We just have to work towards it and elect people who think it’s an important goal,” Kory said.

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story stated Virginia’s ranking among all 50 states for evictions, but it was based on data for only 10 states. The story has been corrected and updated.

Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Media and Culture. Students in the program provide state government coverage for a variety of media outlets in Virginia.