SAN DIEGO — Summer is right around the corner, which means a lot of tourists will be looking to rent a home during their visit to San Diego but this year will be different.
The City of San Diego now requires homeowners to have a license to operate short-term vacation rentals.
The city has already put 52 hosts in Mission Beach on notice for allegedly not substantiating information on their application.
You've been asking CBS 8: how you can find out if your neighbor has a STRO license.
Enforcement on Short-Term Rental Occupancy known as STRO’s started this week in San Diego.
We're Working for You and walking you through how to find out:
- If a house has a STRO license
- How to report a violation
- If you own a license, how to learn what complaints have been made against you
“I noticed all these new signs up so wanted to take a peek and see what they are all about,” said Kory Strohauer, Mission Beach resident.
Some signs are more legible and reachable than others but under San Diego's new STRO ordinance, hosts must post signage.
The signage should include:
- The license
- TOT numbers
- The name and number of the local contact
Signage is the first way to know if they have a license but if you can't find one on the house, you can also visit the city's STRO website.
When you scroll down under “Reporting Violations,” it directs you to STRO Get It Done where can view the City’s OpenData Portal. It has a spreadsheet of all the STRO’s that include the address, tier, local contact name and number.
“We see a lot of people renting units coming in and out and now that this new ordinance we are going to check and see if the signs are out because we don't see a lot of them,” said Strohauer
Since rentals are dense in Mission Beach, it has its own tier which requires whole homes to be rented a minimum of 90 days in the year.
Outside of Mission Beach there is a minimum of 20 days out of the year for a whole home, which falls under Tier 3.
If someone has a problem with a short term rental such as noise, trash, not getting back to a complaint within an hour, or they are running one without a license you can call (619) 533-6489 or email dsdstrocomplaint@sandiego.gov but the city encourages people to report it on Get It Done.
Hosts can also check on themselves.
Complaints are filed with Code Enforcement and anyone can check for reports and status by searching addressed under the department’s website.
Strohauer and his pup Ruka, say now they know how to sniff out any STRO violators and hope to keep the peace in Mission Beach.
“It doesn't really bother me, but rules are rules, so you have to follow them,” said Strohauer.
The city did not provide information on complaints or violations that have been filed against licensed STRO’s.
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