City of Alexandria, Virginia
____________
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
________________________________________________________________________
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 LaColla, Division Chief, Department of Planning and Zoning