Montgomery County to Consider Approach to Short-Term Rentals

• April 12, 2017

by Nena Perry-Brown

An Airbnb rental in Bethesda.

Montgomery County is the latest jurisdiction to attempt a formalized response to the online short-term rental market.

Next month, the county’s planning board will consider a zoning text amendment (ZTA) that would regulate online-based rental platforms like Airbnb and HomeAway.

The ZTA would define a short-term residential rental as a dwelling unit occupied for fewer than 30 days at a time that is not a bed and breakfast. Prospective hosts of short-term rentals would only be allowed to rent all or parts of their primary residences and would still be subject to compliance with any lease or homeowner’s association agreements.

The proposed amendment would require that hosts pay for renewable annual licenses and would restrict short-term rentals to accepting guests for up to 90 days in a calendar year. Each rental could only be occupied by up to six adults per night, with a maximum of two people per bedroom.

The ZTA, which was first introduced by the County Council in February, is a companion to Bill 2-16, an omnibus bill that would update how all transient housing is licensed.

The community will have the opportunity to share written or oral testimony on the subject at or prior to the May 4th hearing.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/moco_planning_board_to_consider_approach_to_short-term_rentals/12440