"At this point, the city won't be pushing for aggressive enforcement, and instead will focus on educating hosts on how to comply with the new regulations, said Mountain View management analyst Melvin Gaines, who designed the new rules."

This is a ridiculous statement. Why have a law if you will not enforce it?

f the city receives complaints about a particular rental listing, it will be reviewed on a "case-by-case" basis, Gaines said.

Airbnb's have been a constant source of aggravation in our neighborhood. They are basically discount hotels with people constantly coming and going. Mr. Gaines best be prepared to deal with complaints and fine residents per the law.

You said,
"Airbnb's have been a constant source of aggravation in our neighborhood. They are basically discount hotels with people constantly coming and going. Mr. Gaines best be prepared to deal with complaints and fine residents per the law."

If you think that the city is going to do anything about your complaints, ask the people who have been complaining for years about the ever growing population of RV's that are coming to our city, ask them how their complaints are being handled.

Siegel and Showalther wants to expand the RV parking by opening up 3 other blocks of parking to them, that was stated in the last city council meeting.
No discussion of enforcement, only expanding it.

It is time to vote out council members who do not listen to the residents of our city.

Anyone who supports expansion of that needs to be kept out of office.

Vote NO on,
Siegel
Showalther
Rameriz

I would love to see these fees decreased for residents who rent out their home while on a vacation. If you are only doing one or two short-term rentals per years, these fees (especially the registration fee) seem exorbitant.

We have at least two, and possibly more, empty-nester live at home hosts on our block who rent out one or two unneeded Airbnb bedrooms to short-term occupants. Some also rent out rooms to students at local colleges who are longer-term residents. The hosts all are very considerate about their impact upon neighbors and so far, their rentals have created no significant problems on our block. If this trend continues, and it allows our good neighbors to remain in their homes after their children move out, then I'm all in favor of it. It adds stability to our community.

I'm in an small apartment complex in old mountain view with 22 units. Of those 22 units, 4 of the units have been converted to Airbnb short term rentals. Hopefully these new regulations will put these units back onto the long term rental market.

I agree with "Mom of two". Not only will the 165$ license fee be a big problem for occasional hosts, but also give hosts a reason to not register. The city is going to get revenues from the occupancy tax anyway. If more revenue is really required, why not increase that rate? It'll be a continuing stream unlike the one-time registration fee. Nonetheless, this is a step forward in the right direction.

Luckily I don't have mine listed so it'll be impossible for them to get any fee from me. I can street park them for free, rent them out at $X00 per day and do quite well thank you very much. So easy.

This city just will not stay out of other the residents business
It’s our house or condo just back off.

I travel all the time and rent out my apartment sometimes for the whole month while I was away. It offsets the rent I was gonna pay. Please don't take this away from us.

The city Of mountain view just seems to be getting greedy.

Is there any update on the second reading of the ordinance?

In response to Concerned MV Resident you said:

“I travel all the time and rent out my apartment sometimes for the whole month while I was away. It offsets the rent I was gonna pay. Please don't take this away from us.”

I hate to say this but what you are doing is not legal. Your lease does not allow you to lease out that unit. Please read this from NOLO (Web Link

“Tenants: How to Make Airbnb Work for You and Your Landlord

Tips for tenants who want to rent all or part of their apartment on Airbnb or similar short-term rental sites.

By Stephen Fishman, J.D. Share on Google Plus Share on Facebook

If you're a renter, there is good news and bad news about renting out your apartment short-term though websites such as Airbnb, HomeAway, or FlipKey. The good news is that, depending on where you live, you can make real money with such rentals. THE BAD NEWS IS THAT YOU COULD GET EVICTED.

Here are some things renters should do before engaging in short-term hosting.

Read Your Lease or Rental Agreement

First, read your lease. It undoubtedly has a provision that says something like the following: “TENANT SHALL NOT SUBLET ALL OR ANY PART OF THE PREMISES WITHOUT LANDLORD’S PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT.” “SUBLET” MEANS YOU RENT OUT ALL OR PART OF THE APARTMENT—WHETHER FOR A FEW DAYS OR LONGER. IF YOU VIOLATE THIS PROVISION, OR A LEASE CLAUSE LIMITING GUEST STAYS, YOUR LANDLORD CAN EVICT YOU.

If you’re a good tenant, your landlord may not be anxious to evict you and may let you off with a warning and a promise not to do any more short-term hosting. ON THE OTHER HAND, IF YOU LIVE IN A RENT-CONTROLLED APARTMENT AND ARE PAYING A BELOW-MARKET RENT, YOUR LANDLORD MAY BE LOOKING FOR ANY LEGAL EXCUSE TO EVICT YOU AND GET NEW TENANTS AT A HIGHER—PERHAPS MUCH HIGHER—RENT. THIS HAS ALREADY HAPPENED TO RENTERS IN CITIES WITH RENT CONTROL LIKE SAN FRANCISCO AND NEW YORK. IN ONE CASE, FOR EXAMPLE, A TENANT WHO LISTED HIS SAN FRANCISCO APARTMENT ON AIRBNB RECEIVED AN EVICTION NOTICE FROM HIS LANDLORD EVEN THOUGH HE NEVER ACTUALLY HOSTED ANYONE.

Research Your Local Laws

MANY LOCAL ZONING OR LAND USE LAWS RESTRICT OR PROHIBIT SHORT-TERM RENTAL HOSTING. Research your local laws before you even think about renting out your apartment. For details, see the Nolo article Legal Restrictions to Renting Your Home on Airbnb or Other Rental Services.

If your local laws prohibit short-term hosting, you should forget about it. If you’re very anxious to host, you could work to get such laws changed.

Work Something Out With Your Landlord

Most renters who do short-term hosting never tell their landlords about it. THIS IS LIKE PLAYING RUSSIAN ROULETTE WITH YOUR LEASE. It may work out okay if your guests cause no problems and your neighbors don’t complain to your landlord. The landlord may never even find out about your Airbnb guests, especially if your landlord lives out of town and rarely stops by the rental. ON THE OTHER HAND, IF NEIGHBORS COMPLAIN OR THE LANDLORD OTHERWISE DISCOVERS WHAT YOU’RE DOING, YOU COULD BE IN TROUBLE.

Instead of taking this chance, you should to talk to landlord and get his or her permission before you ever list your apartment on Airbnb or another short-term hosting site. (See How to Sublet a Rental Unit for more on the subject.)

In order to get your landlord to agree, you’ll probably have to take steps to make it worth your landlord's while. OBVIOUSLY, ONE WAY TO DO THIS IS TO OFFER TO SPLIT WITH YOUR LANDLORD PART OF THE MONEY YOU EARN. IN ONE REPORTED CASE, FOR EXAMPLE, A SAN FRANCISCO LANDLORD AGREED TO PERMIT HIS TENANTS TO LIST THEIR RENTED HOME ON AIRBNB IN RETURN FOR 20% OF THE MONEY THE AIRBNB GUEST PAID, AFTER CLEANING EXPENSES. ALTERNATIVELY, YOU COULD OFFER TO PAY YOUR LANDLORD A HIGHER RENT IF HE OR SHE LETS YOU EARN EXTRA INCOME THROUGH SHORT-TERM HOSTING.

There are other things you can do as well to make your landlord more amenable to your short-term hosting. For example, your landlord may give you permission to host so long as you promise to do so only on an occasional basis, rather than all the time. If your landlord is worried that your guests could cause problems and bother the neighbors, you could rent out only a portion of your apartment, rather than the entire unit. That way, you’ll be present to deal with the guests.

IF YOU DO GET YOUR LANDLORD’S PERMISSION TO SHORT-TERM HOST, BE SURE TO SUMMARIZE YOUR AGREEMENT IN WRITING. IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT ALREADY, YOU SHOULD ALSO OBTAIN RENTERS' INSURANCE WITH PLENTY OF LIABILITY COVERAGE. IF YOUR LANDLORD WANTS TO INCREASE HIS OR HER OWN INSURANCE COVERAGE BECAUSE OF YOUR FREQUENT PAYING GUESTS, YOU COULD OFFER TO PAY ALL OR PART OF THE COST. FOR DETAILS ON INSURANCE ISSUES INVOLVED WITH SHORT-TERM RENTALS, SEE INSURANCE QUESTIONS WHEN RENTING OUT YOUR HOME SHORT TERM.

IF YOUR LANDLORD WON’T AGREE TO PERMIT YOU TO SHORT-TERM HOST, DON’T DO IT. THE EXTRA MONEY YOU MIGHT EARN LIKELY WON’T MAKE UP FOR GETTING EVICTED.

Pay All Required Taxes and Fees

MAKE SURE YOU PAY ALL REQUIRED TAXES AND FEES YOUR CITY, COUNTY, OR OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCY IMPOSES ON SHORT-TERM RENTALS.

Screen Your Guests

Finally, you should always carefully screen your Airbnb, HomeAway, FlipKey, and similar guests. This is by far the best way to avoid problems that can lead to evictions or problems in your rental. In one case, for example, a comedian rented his New York City studio apartment through Airbnb only to discover that the guest used the unit to host a “BBW panty raid party” to which he charged the public admission. The apartment was ransacked and the comic’s landlord started eviction proceedings. Had the comic Googled the Gmail address and phone number the guest had provided him during their correspondence on Airbnb, he would discovered a tweet advertising such a party.

MORE THOROUGH SCREENING MAY BE WARRANTED, FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU ARE RENTING YOUR APARTMENT OUT ON A LONG-TERM BASIS. IN THIS CASE, IT MAKES SENSE TO RUN A CREDIT REPORT AND SCREEN YOUR SUBTENANTS THE WAY LANDLORDS SCREEN NEW TENANTS. SEE THE NOLO ARTICLE HOW TO SCREEN AND SELECT TENANTS FAQ FOR MORE ON THE SUBJECT.

As far as “Take it away from us”. This is simply never been a assumed legal business practice. All I am saying is that if landlords convince you to do this, they can reverse that at any time. Landlords are put in a serious legal liability if they let tenants sublet because they take legal liabilities if a “structural” or “property” problem results in either property of personal injury to the sublet tenant. They cannot get rental insurance because they are not directly leasing from the property owner.

People have to be VERY careful.

Anyone who posts a lengthy posts with caps lock enabled and think that someone will read it is clearly deranged.

In response to Brevity you said:

"Anyone who posts a lengthy posts with caps lock enabled and think that someone will read it is clearly deranged."

You fail to indicate something. THIS IS VALID INFORMATION.

Your only complaint is it is long and that I use CAPITALIZATION?

You claim that I AM DERANGED?

DO YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION TO CONTRIBUTE? DO YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION THAT NEGATES THIS INFORMATION?

Oh maybe NOT.

Why should voters vote to protect landlords profits when they do this reported on ABC news regarding Air BnB scams:

(Web Link

Why should we be allowing this kind of fraud and scams by landlords?


We must allow the local governments to be able to protect their citizens.