Short term vacation rentals (lasting less than 30 days) are becoming more common throughout the Central Coast, along with home sharing (renting out a room or part of a unit while the primary resident is present). However, different areas have their own ordinances and regulations regarding renting out your home. Thinking of leasing your home temporarily? Check out these guidelines and requirements based on your location, provided by the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors.
Santa Barbara - Short term vacation rentals are prohibited in Santa Barbara, with certain exceptions that require you to get a business license. At the moment, the city is not issuing business licenses nor collecting Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT). A Home Sharing Rental Ordinance is currently in the works.
Goleta - The city of Goleta requires several steps to be taken aside from obtaining a short term vacation rental permit. Goleta's ordinance takes into account the property owner, the vacationer, and the neighbors. In addition to a permit, Goleta requires a Nuisance Response Plan, a Transient Occupancy Tax Application for Certificate Registration, a Surety bond, a Declaration of Notification, and a General Business License Application.
Carpinteria - Carpinteria allows short term vacation rentals, but only in PRD zones (beach and downtown areas). The city also requires a business license and TOT.
Santa Barbara County - For unincorporated areas, there are no existing rules regarding short term vacation rentals, although this will likely change. A new ordinance addressing these rentals is expected to go into place next year. Currently, to have a short term vacation rental you are required to have a business license.
Last Wednesday, UC Santa Barbara's beachside college town, Isla Vista, saw the opening of Amazon@IslaVista, an Amazon.com storefront that provides secure lockers for online orders. Amazon, the country's number one Internet retailer, is especially popular amongst college students, who order everything from snacks to clothes to college textbooks through the site. The new storefront is expected to increase security and reduce theft, a common occurrence in the small town where packages may be left unattended for hours at a time. Similar to long-term post office boxes, the Amazon storefront allows shoppers to select an Amazon locker for delivery rather than opting to receive a package delivery at home. Upon delivery, customers will receive a notification along with a personalized code for the locker. They then have up to five days to pick up the package before it is returned to the Amazon warehouse.