In a town where seemingly every visitor wants to be able to rent a home or condo as close to the beach as possible, the battle over short-term rentals is not unlike the shifting sands of North Beach. The South Haven City Council Monday night adopted amendments to the short-term rental registration ordinance to include attached condos and also changed the one-time registration fee to an annual renewal. The City Council also approved a resolution setting the short-term rental fee schedule.
Prior to last night’s meeting, the city’s short-term rental ordinance excluded attached condo units which meant condos could be rented on a short-term basis without registering with the city or paying the applicable registration fees. Condo units were also not subject to inspection requirements or maximum-occupancy caps.
Although South Haven officials initially considered condo units to not be related to the complaints regarding short-term rentals in single-family neighborhoods, they say that circumstances arose for considering an amendment for their inclusion.
One reason for reconsideration was the incomplete record of statistics regarding the number of short-term rental activities within the city. Council officials say that without a good method to identify condo units rented on a short-term basis, the overall increase or decrease in rental activity was unable to be adequately tracked. Further, there existed a disparity in treatment between condos and other dwelling units as the owners of condos could rent without paying the same fees or following the same safety and fire code regulations as other short-term dwelling owners.
Officials tell us the short-term rental fees were established to provide revenue to cover the cost of providing rental registration services and increased building capacity request applications. While that revenue assisted in offsetting the city’s expenses in creating the short-term rental program, revenues began to decline due to enforcement and administration expenses they continued to incur.
Officials described continuing expenses to include
- The cost of inspections
- The cost of additional enforcement personnel during the summer
- Inspection programs
- Staff and attorney time devoted to addressing short-term rental issues
The South Haven City Council approved renewal fees to be set at $200, while first time application fees will be set at $250 to cover the initial inspection prior to the issuance of a permit.
Authorities say the ordinance will take effect 10 days after its adoption or upon publication of the notice of adoption, whichever occurs later.
Additional information is available from Assistant City Manager Kate Hosier, at 269-637-0775 or via email, khosier@south-haven.com.
