Oswego is taking a closer look at options to regulate short-term home rentals on such platforms at Airbnb and Vrbo.
Oswego trustees as a committee of the whole recently directed staff to draft an ordinance that would define and regulate properties rented to temporary house guests after having a discussion about potential legal challenges and whether short-term rentals are needed in the village.
Residents who live near homes being used for short-term rentals have complained about loud parties while others have objected to regulations as an infringement on property rights, village officials said.
While there have been legal challenges in the United States concerning regulations for short-term rentals, there is no definitive answer on where the courts will go on the issue, village attorney Karl Ottosen told trustees.
Municipal regulations would likely withstand a constitutional challenge but an ordinance to ban short-term rentals would create a much more “difficult fight” in court, he said.
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“A couple of municipalities in the Chicago area have put a ban on rentals shorter than 30 days and to me that is essentially banning the short-term rental properties. If challenged there is more likelihood than not it would not be upheld,” Ottosen said. “The question is how much risk you want to take as a board.”
Few neighboring communities actually have regulations in place, according to a staff report.
Kendall County permits short-term rentals in unincorporated areas so long as the properties are registered. Naperville requires a minimum 30-day rental period, according to a staff report.
Current village ordinances do regulate such things as noise and overnight parking that pertain to the properties.
Trustee Brian Thomas supported a 30-day minimum as Naperville has done.
“If we implement something now with no less than 30 days and it’s challenged then we can make the decision on how to move forward,” Thomas said.
Trustee James Marter said it could potentially be costly to the village if there is a legal challenge.
“I don’t want to put ourselves in a position to have to defend ourselves in court,” Marter said.
People do come to Oswego to be with family members over the holidays and for social and sporting events hosted in the village throughout the year, Oswego Village President Troy Parlier said.
“I would say we are a vacation destination,” Parlier said in response to one board member’s comment.
Parlier suggested the Village Board come up with something the board can agree on concerning the issue.
“There are a couple of things I would like us to consider so we can thoughtfully come up with something that everyone can agree with. This is a hot button topic,” Parlier said.
“Homeowners associations are a first line of defense that can take care of this locally if they choose. However, not every neighborhood is covered by a homeowners association in Oswego, so we need to afford some form of protection for that environment. Something modest we can agree on and come back and monitor,” Parlier said.
Parlier suggested the village support some form of “moderate” regulation that would include registration of all short-term rental units that would involve a fee.
“I would like us to come up with something modest to provide some comfort for those areas that do not have the ability to regulate. At some point we should require some form of registration,” he said.
Parlier said he would not support a hotel type tax on short-term rentals.
“In my first year in office we got away from those small hotel type taxes that cost us more to process than we were gaining on the revenue side,” Parlier said.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.