VRMA Administrator
San Diego has just begun enforcement of new licensing requirements for short-term rentals (STR), but the city has given out fewer licenses than it had expected. "We originally thought there was going to be a lot of vacation homes, especially the whole home rentals, we anticipated and had a cap at 5,400 we didn’t even meet that," said Venus Molina, chief of staff for San Diego City Council member Jennifer Campbell, whose district includes Mission Beach, the only area that’s out of licenses. There’s now a waiting list. But some who got licenses could lose their golden tickets. Dozens of licenses are under review because there were errors in their applications due to the way the lottery was run. Molina said it was weighted, meaning some operators in good standing were entered more than once. There are already dozens of complaints filed, Molina said, adding that just because someone files a complaint doesn't mean the STR owner will get fined. "Sometimes people are just going to complain without merit, without (there) actually being a fault. So we're not going to come down on a good operator because their neighbor isn’t happy. So that's why there's a 'three strikes and you’re out.'"
KPBS.org (CA) (05/03/23) Kitty Alvarado
