After many years of indecision, the City of San Diego finally passed an ordinance to restrict short term rentals on July 16, 2018. In a 6-3 vote, short term rentals are now only permissible in primary residences, and duplexes where the owner resides in one of the units. Primary residences can be rented out for a maximum of 6 months when the owners are not present. Short term rentals will not be allowed in vacation homes/investment properties which are not used as a primary residence. These regulations will go into effect starting July 2019. I think we can expect to see legal challenges filed by Airbnb against the City in the coming months regarding the enforceability of this ordinance, since Airbnb has filed similar lawsuits against other cities over such restrictive ordinances. This ordinance will significantly impact property owners who rely on short term rentals to pay their mortgages, and will greatly reduce the income collected by the City that is generated by short term rentals. On the flip side, there will now be more properties made available for long term rentals which is currently in short supply in the City.
