Assembly bill 1731 is currently pending in the State legislature and could significantly impact short term rentals in San Diego County. This bill, proposed by Assemblywoman Boerner Horvath from Encinitas, if enacted, would permit short term rentals in the San Diego County coastal zones in owner-occupied residential properties only. This means, property owners in the coastal zone who want to conduct short term rentals would have to reside on the property at least 270 days per year, and the property would have to qualify as their primary residence. There would be no limit on the number of days an owner-occupied property could conduct short term rentals in the coastal zone.
This bill further restricts owners of investment properties or second homes in the coastal zone from being able to conduct short term rentals for more than a total of 30 days per year. This bill would prevent cities from being able to enact local laws allowing short term rentals in the coastal zone for investment properties, and would prevent hosting platforms like Airbnb or VRBO from publishing listings for investment properties that are not primary residences for more than a total of 30 days out of the year. The only exception to this 30 day limit on investment properties is if the property owners comply with the Lower Cost Coastal Accommodations Program. The Lower Cost Coastal Accommodations Program was enacted in October of 2017 (Public Resources Code Section 31411-31414) with the purpose to develop new, lower cost accommodations along the coast for low income individuals. It is unclear from the text of the bill or the LCCAP what rental rates for short term rental properties would qualify for this program exemption. This bill, if passed, would detrimentally impact all San Diego County coastal areas like Mission Beach where the properties are all predominantly investment property vacation rentals. If this bill passes through the Natural Resources Committee, it will proceed to the State Assembly by May 31, 2019 for a vote before being submitted to the Senate. This legislation if passed would only apply to San Diego County and would be the first state mandated law restricting short term rentals as opposed to the City ordinances we’ve seen across California which would open the floodgates for state restrictions in other counties who currently allow short term rentals.
Link to Assembly Bill 1731 Text: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB1731
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It is specific to the laws of the State of California. For specific questions related to this article, please contact the Law Office of Ashley M. Peterson.