City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: FEBURARY 20, 2019
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, CITY MANAGER /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Short-Term Residential Rentals (Airbnb) Status Report
BODY
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ISSUE: Update on Short-Term Residential Rentals in the City.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council receive the report.
DISCUSSION: During FY 2018, City Council adopted a Short-Term Residential Rental Registry to assist in identifying short-term rentals in the City. In tandem with this adoption, the Department of Finance contracted with a data analytics company to further assist with discovery efforts. Approximately 370 rental listings have been identified to date.
At the same time, the City entered into a Voluntary Collection Agreement (VCA) with Airbnb, the principal hosting platform for short-term rentals. Under the VCA, Airbnb collects the City's Transient Lodging tax from Airbnb tenants. Tax collections are currently tracking to exceed the FY 2019 budget estimate by approximately $200,000. To date, staff has received relatively few complaints about short-term residential rentals.
As indicated in the attached presentation neighboring jurisdictions have taken a more restrictive approach. Staff is presenting this information as an update and is not proposing more restrictive regulations at this time.
FISCAL IMPACT: None. The revenue and expenditures associated with short-term residential rentals have already been factored into FY 2019 revised budget estimates and FY 2020 projected revenue. FY 2019 revenue is estimated to be about $300,000.
ATTACHMENT: Staff Presentation on Short-Term Residential Rentals
STAFF:
Laura B. Triggs, Deputy City Manager
Kendel Taylor, Director, Department of Finance
Karl Moritz, Director, Department of Planning and Zoning
Kevin C. Greenlief, Assistant Director, Revenue Division, Finance
Tony L...
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