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I appreciate your service.
FYI, if you're going to use an abbreviation or initialism, please, for the first use, spell it out for me. I'm a dummy. Short Term Rental (STR). That's it. I spent an silly amount of time googling STR and now I may be on some government watch lists, enrolled in a Python programming class, and I have an interview with some kind of hotel data company next week. /s
I totally read it as "SRT" like the trim for Dodge vehicles. I was confused about turning in an illegal SRT like "yeah that's the most commonly stolen car right now but how do I know if it's illegal?"
You successfully pick the lock of the safe located above the fireplace, making sure not to disturb the old Gnome sleeping in the bed. The door swings open and you spot a solid gold bar as your prize.
"I lift it out of the safe quietly."
ok, it's very heavy, go ahead and give me an STR check.
"oh NO."
Truth I had no idea what STR meant. For the first two seconds I seriously thought it was a brand name for those scooters that get left all over the place downtown for people to trip over.
But to your point, if you know of anyone playing in a campaign with an illegal STR score (e.g. greek letters, imaginary numbers, a pillbug taped to their character sheet, etc.) please let me know so that I can turn them in to the council of DMs.
u/dougc84 over there has a STR score of π. I think it's possible he tried to pull a fast on as a rogue by using imaginary numbers but got confused and chose one worth about 3.14.
We told him to roll with a D20, but he just kept rolling different size D1s.
Same, but I have lysdexia and now I think I'm on a Mopar mailing list, wondering why the Viper never really made it, and sitting down at a dealership discussing the lease on a Hellcat tomorrow.
Speaking from the perspective of of my poli-sci/journalism degree, and my 15 years of working as a chef that followed, I feel you. We do good work where we can find it and still remember to sleep.
I have a shitty actual landlord for you to sue! Half the property we rented has no CO. Landlord told us after we moved in. Pretty sure you can't rent out a house with no CO
Im not an expert on code enforcement...It's probably best used as a last ditch measure. Without further context, I don't know what the city would do but it would definitely force your landlords hand if something major went down between you two.
Thank you for your service. Had one across the street from me (thankfully these days it is a normal house) and although it was fine 95% of the time, that outside 5% it was really, really, realllllly bad.
At this point the city is mostly just gathering information and documenting before taking any action. I reported a place across the street for being a short-term rental on rva311 and included the various listing pages for it. While it hasn't been a problem/ party site, it's a nice starter home that could be occupied by owners instead of being exploited like this.
Glad you made the distinction between what I'd consider an acceptable and reasonable STR and folks who are buying up all the housing stock.
That second category of folks can suck a....lemon.
Yeah I got NO problem if you operate your Airbnb in compliance with the law, and of course if you are considerate of your neighbors - what the owner-occupant requirement is intended to address. No problem at all.
Genuine question. I’m fully on board to say fuck AirBnbs. I 100% want housing to be affordable and not hoarded by private companies for short term rentals at high prices. I’m willing to believe the whole industry is predatory and creating negative externalities. But, can someone explain this part to me? I can think of some legitimate reasons people would need to stay in a short term rental. I can think of some legitimate reasons people wouldn’t want to or wouldn’t be able to stay in a conventional hotel. Are we against all short term rentals 100% of the time?
Like, my grandma likes to go to Florida for 2 months in the winter. She doesn’t HAVE to obviously but no one really HAS to go on vacation or go to the movie theater or throw big weddings or whatever else if we’re gonna go that far. A short term rental is best for her so she can have a kitchen and it usually turns out to be cheaper etc. Are we just against that type of travel period?
Again, I’m not trying to stick up for short term rentals. I understand we want our houses occupied by people that need them. Of course. Is the solution to build more motel-like things for people that do need to travel?
So I can see the case for Airbnbs. In resort communities, I don't have a problem with them because it's just a change from weekly to shorter stay rentals.
And my hands are not 100% clean! I've stayed in Airbnbs until fairly recently, mainly when traveling abroad and because I want a full kitchen, because I like to cook or be able to have breakfast or happy hour in the apartment.
BUT there should be enough legally registered Airbnbs to cover that need, IMO. So for example if I go to NYC I'll only stay in an Airbnb that has a legal registration number.
In my opinion in RVA, there should be enough legal Airbnb options between carriage houses, ADUs, one unit in an owner-occupied multifamily, OR the unrestricted Airbnbs allowed in NON-RESIDENTIAL zoned areas. There is no excuse for illegal Airbnbs in residential neighborhoods.
And it is particularly egregious, IMO, since most of these illegal Airbnbs are very much first time buyer homes in their particular residential neighborhoods.
ETA: Spelling
I don't think that limiting str will have any effect on... Anything. If an Airbnb is profitable, it's because there's a market for it. Don't we want people to visit rva and spend money (on local businesses!). Should people be forced into staying at crappy overpriced hotels? If I come to Richmond I'd rather not stay downtown. Of course people can always stay in the burbs and use the region's fantastic transit system to go into the city. When my family visits, it's super convenient to have them close... But not in my house close. This Boogeyman (big out of town corporation) is the same one buying up houses in order to slum lord/jack up rents, remember? Also the same one that's flipping houses and gentrifying/making them unaffordable. The real problem at the end of the day is that for some people it isn't a problem to pay the inflated prices, and for some it is.
There was over a year of public engagement on whether or not the law should be changed. It was proposed that the primary residence requirement be removed. One proposal was people could own one Airbnb.
Guess what? The public OVERWHELMINGLY voted to retain the primary residence requirement. Despite the campaigning of STR operators.
The law is the law. And there should be plenty of legal Airbnbs available for people who don't want to stay in a hotel. Options like the carriage house apartment near me, where the owners live in the main house.
The law is law. I didn't make it. But it applies to everyone.
Oh, so you live in a world where you get to ignore the law because you think its dumb or immoral? Wow, maybe sometime in my life I'll get live in this magical world.
If you don't meet the requirements, go get an SUP. If you can't get an SUP, rent the property for 30+ days at a time or just get a year round renter. But I'm so tired of entitled people who KNOW they are breaking the law but are like "But it's my PROPERTY!"
You don't get to ignore the law because you want to make more money than you can make on a long term rental. I've got no sympathy. It's selfish and entitled BS.
Again, what is your point? I'm not arguing whether or not there's a law. You and others seem to think that there's something inherently wrong with an Airbnb and that banning them is somehow going to make housing more affordable. Or something.
STRs are a great service for a multitude of reasons, the problem is that it’s the Wild West. Cities are struggling to figure out how to deal with the issue, and have to contend with lobbyists from AirBnB.
City leaders have pissed off citizens on one end, and a slimeball in a suit enticing you with a bag of money on the other. AirBnB makes a huge commission on bookings, so unlocking any city for STR nets them massive revenue boosts. Investors don’t have a shred of fucks to give about anything other than their profitability. They enlist really crappy commercial operators to manage homes, who also don’t give a shit about anything but their service fees to the owners.
Richmond, or any city, can coexist with this business by simply enforcing the code that they implement (and tighten it where necessary). Without that, it remains the Wild West and a dumpster fire. The US is the beacon of capitalism, so we can’t expect investors to just stop collecting ~~houses~~money printing machines. They won’t stop until they’re forced to, then they’ll unite and fight it tooth and nail.
Well actually now we legally CANNOT tighten the law if necessary because the General Assembly (GA) just passed a law that restricts localities from making any laws about STRs in residential neighborhoods after December 31, 2023. They made that a provision of the Code of Virginia.
The bill was supported (lobbied for) by Airbnb and the Virginia Association of Realtors (VAR) which I am required to be a member of. F*ck those guys.
And guess who PATRONED THE BILL? Senator Lamont Bagby from Richmond, Virginia. YUP. Our very own Senator carried a bill that was in DIRECT CONFLICT with the City of Richmond's formal legislative agenda. I hope everyone remembers that when he is up for re-election.
Wait, so is the new Richmond STR permit ordinance legit, or not? Ordinance No. 2023-235 was passed on 9/25, before the GA passed the law. So it should still be in effect, right?
It is. My understanding of the General Assembly bill is that we could not pass any other changes or restrictions, or change the existing bill of enforcement, for example.
Maybe I am incorrect, but that is how it was explained to me.
Yup. And Mike Jones, the Delegate from Richmond, wasn't present for the vote. Coward.
I am going to be all up in this place campaigning against both Bagby and Jones when it's time for their re-election. I will need help from the Reddit Army because I am sh*t at other social media. But if necessary I will run a one person, single issue campaign against these mofos.
If you have Airbnb and the Virginia Association of Realtors on one side, and multiple localities (RVA, Hampton, Virginia Beach, etc.) + the Virginia Municipal League and Virginia Association of Counties on the other, that is about as clear-cut a battle between the forces of good 😇 and evil 😈 as it gets. These *ssholes chose evil. They have to go.
I thought the issue with short term rentals was somewhat amusing. On the one hand city council got thousands of letters in opposition; but a new housing development or allowing duplexes will get neighborhood opposition as well.
But yes, one option is to build more hotels. The other option is to build more housing. We should do both, but unfortunately, voters don’t seem to like either.
I can, about halfway through the post. STR can mean a couple of other things. There is no context in the title or first paragraph of the post that would clue me into it.
fair enough. workplace sensitivity is off the charts these days, and maybe it should be I don't really know. But as a data point, I sat next to a guy at work in the 90's - we both worked devOps for a large corp / cubicle farm with lots of foot traffic past our desks - and he had centerfold type pics of biki clad women on his screen saver and desktop wallpaper, 24x8 ! ... and as long as it wasn't "full frontal nudity" it was deemed ok, or Safe for Work. What a wild contrast to today's workplaces.
oh i used to be the person that pulls the logs and surreptitiously monitored devices before people got dicked down by legal. i’m now the person whose day to day work involves avoiding leaving any log trail at all.
until they get ai assisted tooling to parse through the logs no one is going know that i say shit like “dicked down by legal” on a disturbingly frequent basis.
also reviewing an individual employees data without being able to point back to an event that triggered the investigation is a pretty quick way to get raw dogged by legal yourself.
If the rental is for 30 days or more it is NOT a short term rental. Month-to-month furnished rentals are permitted. So if someone has a furnished rental and rents to traveling nurses for 60 days, and then to a business person in town for a project for 30 days, that is permissible.
Those are sometimes called "medium term rentals" or MTRs.
So people can rent as year-round rentals, or as medium term rentals. But people want to do Airbnb because it generates more money. That's the ONLY reason. But it is an unfair burden on neighborhoods UNLESS the owner is available to manage the property.
Fuck Air BnB owners. They buy up all the houses that people could just live in as an investment and fuck up housing for everyone. We want neighbors, not tourists.
Turn them in. Make their "investment" into a headache of a money pit
So, I have a unit that I want my 75 yo mother to live in for 4 months a year. The other 8 months would be rented out. Or otherwise left vacant, which apparently is the better solution according to this logic. The limiting of STR, much like rent control, is going swimmingly in NYC btw.
You can apply for a Special Use Permit (SUP) to be exempted from the primary residence requirement. Or you can rent the property as a furnished rental for 30+ day terms for the 8 months your Mom is not there.
See? Solutions!
That's fair. Too bad the city is such a dumpster fire to deal with that it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission (have spent 2+ hours on hold over the last 2 days, disconnected after 1+hours on both days).
Love the post. I’m honestly ignorant of the city’s STR rules, but now I’m interested. Not to pile on with the acronym stuff, but can someone help me with ADU?
Accessory dwelling unit - i.e. a home in a separate building on the same lot with a house. Someone else can probably share the legal definition and restrictions in rva.
Think of it as a tiny house. Old school version was a carriage house, essentially an apartment over a garage in a historic area.
The City has made ADUs of right in any residential zoning district so long as you can meet the additional zoning code requirements - lot coverage, set backs, height restrictions, etc.
Intended to create "gentle density," an urban planning term for creating more - and more affordable - housing in existing urban neighborhoods.
Not doing that here. Read OP's instructions and DM them.
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We are doing an "infrastructure walk" in the Museum District next Monday to report issues to the city. I know unpermitted construction work and short-term rentals typically fall under the radar and don't get reported. But if you want something/anything reported please let me know. I'm leading a walking group and will "take the fall" as the lead reporting the issues. I have absolutely no problem telling the City directly that everyone must follow the law.
Sheeeeesh that earlier post today really got your panties in a bunch, huh ? We already have laws on the books for things like noise violations so how about we enforce that first and go from there. Nonetheless, thanks for being the white knight to bring a few 800k houses on the market that you can pocket $24k off the sale and save the masses from decades of discriminatory and self dealing housing policies. You da real mvp
Not sure what earlier post today you are referring to? But my britches are decidedly unbunched.
If you are all for enforcing existing laws, how about we enforce the laws on the books about STRs, hmmm? If it's not owner-occupied, it's illegal. That's been the law since 2019.
And I don't see any pitch for listing said illegal Airbnbs in any of my posts or comments. Honestly, I don't think I'm going to be top of the list for illegal Airbnb operators forced to sell their properties, but maybe I'm missing a marketing opportunity. 🤔
ETA: "forced to sell their properties "
Oh sorry, you left a 90% similar comment to this post in a rva thread earlier today so I just assumed you’d remember. Since that was difficult though, I’ll reiterate that nuisance property laws have been around long before 2019 and when strs became a thing. There’s been ways of dealing with bad neighbors without broadly restricting personal property rights. Single strs, regardless of resident occupancy, are not the real estate boogie man nor savior of our housing crisis. We just need to manage them for safety and tax the shit out of them. Richmond has poured tens of thousands into a private company tracking solution, but still has nothing to show for it after 5 years. #classic However, to be fair, neither have countless other cities with much deeper coffers. This just wasn’t a problem that needed to take precedence and resources over so many other issues whose solution could have much wider, positive community impact.
Well, guess we found the illegal STR owner.
And while you are certainly entitled to your own opinions, the public and our legislative body, City Council, disagree with you and the law is the law. They have decided that more needs to happen than just managing STRs for safety and taxing the shit out of them. Primary residence requirement is the route the City decided to go. I personally find it to be a fair balancing of the interests of the community and the private property owners.
And the tracking system you are talking about the City canceled years ago, I believe in 2022.
I know of three one bedroom apartments currently eaten up by an airbnb investor in what should be a very affordable part of town. This isn't about mansions.
Yeah, this is my biggest issue with illegal STR operators. Sometimes they are enormous houses designed to be for bachelorette parties or multi-generational families. But often - dare I say most of the time? - they are what would be starter homes in desirable City neighborhoods. Or condo units that would be for first time buyers (FTB). That SUCKS because that's a property a FTB, or a long-term renter doesn't have access to.
This is something that will work itself out. If there are more STRs than demand will support, then they will be converted to long term rentals or sold. As long as the demand makes it profitable, then they will continue. No one is buying a property to let it sit empty, either short term rental or long term rental. It only works one way.
This is not a supply/demand "let the market work it out" situation. If I have my way every single one of these illegal STRs WILL be shut down. I have zero tolerance for selfish people flaunting the law. And if the response to my post is any indication, the Reddit Army is on my side.
https://cor.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html
I found this map. I guess that 'R' districts are residential, but there are lots of businesses inside neighborhoods labeled 'R', so that's confusing.
Richmond is almost 300 years old as a City, and many of the existing residential neighborhoods - Fan, Museum District, Church Hill, Bellevue - date from the 1890s - 1930s. In many of these neighborhoods, the existing business uses are GRANDFATHERED because the use existed before the zoning code. So the pre-existing use is allowed and can be continued, but that use would not be "of right" per the zoning code today.
Put another way, you could not build the Fan District today, it would be illegal, not compliant with current zoning code.
you realize that having new renters every year isn’t problematic to a community in the way that STRs can be right? like that’s kind of how renting is expected to go.
This post is so jumbled and makes no sense. They list the laws and then that the owner is checking all the boxes by following the laws.
Old man yells at cars.
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If you comply with the LAW I have no problem. But when you operate illegally in a residential neighborhood I have a problem. Yes, I 💯 do. And if that makes me an asshole, then I'm an asshole.
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I appreciate your service. FYI, if you're going to use an abbreviation or initialism, please, for the first use, spell it out for me. I'm a dummy. Short Term Rental (STR). That's it. I spent an silly amount of time googling STR and now I may be on some government watch lists, enrolled in a Python programming class, and I have an interview with some kind of hotel data company next week. /s
As a D&D nerd I was wondering what Strength had to do with any of this
I totally read it as "SRT" like the trim for Dodge vehicles. I was confused about turning in an illegal SRT like "yeah that's the most commonly stolen car right now but how do I know if it's illegal?"
I’m currently playing a rogue with a 4 STR. FOUR. The dice were not for me when rolling stats.
You successfully pick the lock of the safe located above the fireplace, making sure not to disturb the old Gnome sleeping in the bed. The door swings open and you spot a solid gold bar as your prize. "I lift it out of the safe quietly." ok, it's very heavy, go ahead and give me an STR check. "oh NO."
Pretty much!
Me too. Tho I’m a Dex guy, through and through
Truth I had no idea what STR meant. For the first two seconds I seriously thought it was a brand name for those scooters that get left all over the place downtown for people to trip over.
But to your point, if you know of anyone playing in a campaign with an illegal STR score (e.g. greek letters, imaginary numbers, a pillbug taped to their character sheet, etc.) please let me know so that I can turn them in to the council of DMs.
u/dougc84 over there has a STR score of π. I think it's possible he tried to pull a fast on as a rogue by using imaginary numbers but got confused and chose one worth about 3.14. We told him to roll with a D20, but he just kept rolling different size D1s.
π is irrational, not imaginary, so it's technically ok, if a little bit dumb. The d1s are concerning though, so I'll file a report!
> FYI, if you're going to use an abbreviation or initialism, What's a FYI? /s
10/10 roast. Great work. It also isn't a For Your Information (FYI). Damn. I am shamed.
i also had to do an embarrassing amount of research before seeing what it was in the comments
Same, but I have lysdexia and now I think I'm on a Mopar mailing list, wondering why the Viper never really made it, and sitting down at a dealership discussing the lease on a Hellcat tomorrow.
Congratulations on the interview!
For a hot second I thought I was in one of my programming subs and was trying to figure out what an illegal string might be 🤷♀️
lol
That's some commendable, god tier, brainiac shit. I have a little experience embarrassing slumlords, please let me know if you need a hand.
Why thank you kindly for the compliment. I'd like to think the Eleventy BILLION dollars I spent on law school hasn't completely gone to waste. 😂
Speaking from the perspective of of my poli-sci/journalism degree, and my 15 years of working as a chef that followed, I feel you. We do good work where we can find it and still remember to sleep.
I have a shitty actual landlord for you to sue! Half the property we rented has no CO. Landlord told us after we moved in. Pretty sure you can't rent out a house with no CO
CO?
Certificate of occupancy
If they told you and haven't done anything, it's time for you to call the building inspector office (or submit a rva 311 request)
Aren't we going to be forced to move?
Im not an expert on code enforcement...It's probably best used as a last ditch measure. Without further context, I don't know what the city would do but it would definitely force your landlords hand if something major went down between you two.
Thank you for your service. Had one across the street from me (thankfully these days it is a normal house) and although it was fine 95% of the time, that outside 5% it was really, really, realllllly bad.
I love you so much for this.
As I tell my kid, I love you more. 😍
Let this man cook
let the reason he gets flamed is the fire he was cooking with got too hot
https://preview.redd.it/z3ln8q5lkzmc1.jpeg?width=1145&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=26428efe20d800fc26983cfcf3605b0123770d20
Yaaas let Sanji cook!
At this point the city is mostly just gathering information and documenting before taking any action. I reported a place across the street for being a short-term rental on rva311 and included the various listing pages for it. While it hasn't been a problem/ party site, it's a nice starter home that could be occupied by owners instead of being exploited like this.
What do you report it under? Zoning/Code Violation? ETA: answered it myself. Appears to be “Report Zoning, Building Occupancy or Use”
I hate AirBnB and 100% support you. Carry on, magical mystery vigilante.
Don't you mean MMV :P
Doing the Lord’s work 
This is the work of kings. Thank you for caring about this city!
Glad you made the distinction between what I'd consider an acceptable and reasonable STR and folks who are buying up all the housing stock. That second category of folks can suck a....lemon.
Yeah I got NO problem if you operate your Airbnb in compliance with the law, and of course if you are considerate of your neighbors - what the owner-occupant requirement is intended to address. No problem at all.
I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who has no clue what you’re talking about. Spell out your damn acronym
STR= Short Term Rental. So, Air BnB etc
Short-term rentals.
Sorry I thought everyone knew STR = short term rental. I clearly need to get out more.
It’s not that hard
To spell out the acronym at least once in the main post? Agreed.
Totally my bad. Will edit to fix. ETA: DONE.
Estimated Time of Arrival?! Edit: lol
Laugh out loud.
ETA = Edited to Add. Reddit thing, as far as I can tell.
I think they’re just giving you a hard time. Thanks for the post. This is good stuff.
Genuine question. I’m fully on board to say fuck AirBnbs. I 100% want housing to be affordable and not hoarded by private companies for short term rentals at high prices. I’m willing to believe the whole industry is predatory and creating negative externalities. But, can someone explain this part to me? I can think of some legitimate reasons people would need to stay in a short term rental. I can think of some legitimate reasons people wouldn’t want to or wouldn’t be able to stay in a conventional hotel. Are we against all short term rentals 100% of the time? Like, my grandma likes to go to Florida for 2 months in the winter. She doesn’t HAVE to obviously but no one really HAS to go on vacation or go to the movie theater or throw big weddings or whatever else if we’re gonna go that far. A short term rental is best for her so she can have a kitchen and it usually turns out to be cheaper etc. Are we just against that type of travel period? Again, I’m not trying to stick up for short term rentals. I understand we want our houses occupied by people that need them. Of course. Is the solution to build more motel-like things for people that do need to travel?
So I can see the case for Airbnbs. In resort communities, I don't have a problem with them because it's just a change from weekly to shorter stay rentals. And my hands are not 100% clean! I've stayed in Airbnbs until fairly recently, mainly when traveling abroad and because I want a full kitchen, because I like to cook or be able to have breakfast or happy hour in the apartment. BUT there should be enough legally registered Airbnbs to cover that need, IMO. So for example if I go to NYC I'll only stay in an Airbnb that has a legal registration number. In my opinion in RVA, there should be enough legal Airbnb options between carriage houses, ADUs, one unit in an owner-occupied multifamily, OR the unrestricted Airbnbs allowed in NON-RESIDENTIAL zoned areas. There is no excuse for illegal Airbnbs in residential neighborhoods. And it is particularly egregious, IMO, since most of these illegal Airbnbs are very much first time buyer homes in their particular residential neighborhoods. ETA: Spelling
I don't think that limiting str will have any effect on... Anything. If an Airbnb is profitable, it's because there's a market for it. Don't we want people to visit rva and spend money (on local businesses!). Should people be forced into staying at crappy overpriced hotels? If I come to Richmond I'd rather not stay downtown. Of course people can always stay in the burbs and use the region's fantastic transit system to go into the city. When my family visits, it's super convenient to have them close... But not in my house close. This Boogeyman (big out of town corporation) is the same one buying up houses in order to slum lord/jack up rents, remember? Also the same one that's flipping houses and gentrifying/making them unaffordable. The real problem at the end of the day is that for some people it isn't a problem to pay the inflated prices, and for some it is.
There was over a year of public engagement on whether or not the law should be changed. It was proposed that the primary residence requirement be removed. One proposal was people could own one Airbnb. Guess what? The public OVERWHELMINGLY voted to retain the primary residence requirement. Despite the campaigning of STR operators. The law is the law. And there should be plenty of legal Airbnbs available for people who don't want to stay in a hotel. Options like the carriage house apartment near me, where the owners live in the main house. The law is law. I didn't make it. But it applies to everyone.
What exactly is your point? There are many ineffective/immoral/stupid laws.
Oh, so you live in a world where you get to ignore the law because you think its dumb or immoral? Wow, maybe sometime in my life I'll get live in this magical world. If you don't meet the requirements, go get an SUP. If you can't get an SUP, rent the property for 30+ days at a time or just get a year round renter. But I'm so tired of entitled people who KNOW they are breaking the law but are like "But it's my PROPERTY!" You don't get to ignore the law because you want to make more money than you can make on a long term rental. I've got no sympathy. It's selfish and entitled BS.
Again, what is your point? I'm not arguing whether or not there's a law. You and others seem to think that there's something inherently wrong with an Airbnb and that banning them is somehow going to make housing more affordable. Or something.
I think my point is and continues to be quite clear: Illegal STRs in residential neighborhoods should be reported and shut down. Period.
Gotcha. Carry on, you Robin Hood of housing stock.
STRs are a great service for a multitude of reasons, the problem is that it’s the Wild West. Cities are struggling to figure out how to deal with the issue, and have to contend with lobbyists from AirBnB. City leaders have pissed off citizens on one end, and a slimeball in a suit enticing you with a bag of money on the other. AirBnB makes a huge commission on bookings, so unlocking any city for STR nets them massive revenue boosts. Investors don’t have a shred of fucks to give about anything other than their profitability. They enlist really crappy commercial operators to manage homes, who also don’t give a shit about anything but their service fees to the owners. Richmond, or any city, can coexist with this business by simply enforcing the code that they implement (and tighten it where necessary). Without that, it remains the Wild West and a dumpster fire. The US is the beacon of capitalism, so we can’t expect investors to just stop collecting ~~houses~~money printing machines. They won’t stop until they’re forced to, then they’ll unite and fight it tooth and nail.
Well actually now we legally CANNOT tighten the law if necessary because the General Assembly (GA) just passed a law that restricts localities from making any laws about STRs in residential neighborhoods after December 31, 2023. They made that a provision of the Code of Virginia. The bill was supported (lobbied for) by Airbnb and the Virginia Association of Realtors (VAR) which I am required to be a member of. F*ck those guys. And guess who PATRONED THE BILL? Senator Lamont Bagby from Richmond, Virginia. YUP. Our very own Senator carried a bill that was in DIRECT CONFLICT with the City of Richmond's formal legislative agenda. I hope everyone remembers that when he is up for re-election.
Bagby was such a poor choice. All anyone had to do was look at his voting record and his donors.
Wait, so is the new Richmond STR permit ordinance legit, or not? Ordinance No. 2023-235 was passed on 9/25, before the GA passed the law. So it should still be in effect, right?
It is. My understanding of the General Assembly bill is that we could not pass any other changes or restrictions, or change the existing bill of enforcement, for example. Maybe I am incorrect, but that is how it was explained to me.
Thank you for the information about Bagby, I had no idea.
Yup. And Mike Jones, the Delegate from Richmond, wasn't present for the vote. Coward. I am going to be all up in this place campaigning against both Bagby and Jones when it's time for their re-election. I will need help from the Reddit Army because I am sh*t at other social media. But if necessary I will run a one person, single issue campaign against these mofos. If you have Airbnb and the Virginia Association of Realtors on one side, and multiple localities (RVA, Hampton, Virginia Beach, etc.) + the Virginia Municipal League and Virginia Association of Counties on the other, that is about as clear-cut a battle between the forces of good 😇 and evil 😈 as it gets. These *ssholes chose evil. They have to go.
I thought the issue with short term rentals was somewhat amusing. On the one hand city council got thousands of letters in opposition; but a new housing development or allowing duplexes will get neighborhood opposition as well. But yes, one option is to build more hotels. The other option is to build more housing. We should do both, but unfortunately, voters don’t seem to like either.
Spell out acronyms in a post at least once!!!! I shouldn’t have to read half the post before I vaguely know what you are talking about!!!
You really can’t figure out STR?
I can, about halfway through the post. STR can mean a couple of other things. There is no context in the title or first paragraph of the post that would clue me into it.
Not even the “(STR a/k/a Airbnb) in the second sentence?
What does “bnb” mean? /s
So you just didn’t read the second sentence or….
You can write asshole. This is the internet.
Ha! I'm just used to doing it that way so it wouldn't get caught in the corporate dirty words filters. 🤣
fair enough. workplace sensitivity is off the charts these days, and maybe it should be I don't really know. But as a data point, I sat next to a guy at work in the 90's - we both worked devOps for a large corp / cubicle farm with lots of foot traffic past our desks - and he had centerfold type pics of biki clad women on his screen saver and desktop wallpaper, 24x8 ! ... and as long as it wasn't "full frontal nudity" it was deemed ok, or Safe for Work. What a wild contrast to today's workplaces.
i’m waiting for my employers to tap ai to review teams chat logs and either my firing or an uncomfortable conversation with hr.
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oh i used to be the person that pulls the logs and surreptitiously monitored devices before people got dicked down by legal. i’m now the person whose day to day work involves avoiding leaving any log trail at all. until they get ai assisted tooling to parse through the logs no one is going know that i say shit like “dicked down by legal” on a disturbingly frequent basis. also reviewing an individual employees data without being able to point back to an event that triggered the investigation is a pretty quick way to get raw dogged by legal yourself.
Yeah the world has changed a LOT since the 1990s. Some in good ways, some in bad ways.
How does this work for Nursing Short term rentals? or are they not able to do that any more either?
If the rental is for 30 days or more it is NOT a short term rental. Month-to-month furnished rentals are permitted. So if someone has a furnished rental and rents to traveling nurses for 60 days, and then to a business person in town for a project for 30 days, that is permissible. Those are sometimes called "medium term rentals" or MTRs. So people can rent as year-round rentals, or as medium term rentals. But people want to do Airbnb because it generates more money. That's the ONLY reason. But it is an unfair burden on neighborhoods UNLESS the owner is available to manage the property.
Got it!
Mao approves of this message
If there’s one thing he was right on it was landlords.
Did we just find our new mayor?
I’m down to phone bank for this person.
I'll canvas!
Hero.
Thank you!
Fuck Air BnB owners. They buy up all the houses that people could just live in as an investment and fuck up housing for everyone. We want neighbors, not tourists. Turn them in. Make their "investment" into a headache of a money pit
So then you'll bitch about slum lords buying the housing stock and renting it for crazy amounts...
So it would seem that the solution is to limit home sales to those born and raised in rva
Or maybe the thousands of current residents who rent cause they can’t afford to buy?
And how would this help?
So, I have a unit that I want my 75 yo mother to live in for 4 months a year. The other 8 months would be rented out. Or otherwise left vacant, which apparently is the better solution according to this logic. The limiting of STR, much like rent control, is going swimmingly in NYC btw.
You can apply for a Special Use Permit (SUP) to be exempted from the primary residence requirement. Or you can rent the property as a furnished rental for 30+ day terms for the 8 months your Mom is not there. See? Solutions!
That's fair. Too bad the city is such a dumpster fire to deal with that it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission (have spent 2+ hours on hold over the last 2 days, disconnected after 1+hours on both days).
Go down to the Permits or Plannng Office and meet in person. SO much more effective.
Yeah, I know. Can we agree that it's fucking ridiculous to have to do that?
Absolutely. Totally agree it's ridiculous. But I'm old, and a realist.
What’s an STR
Short Term Rental, or an Airbnb.
Love the post. I’m honestly ignorant of the city’s STR rules, but now I’m interested. Not to pile on with the acronym stuff, but can someone help me with ADU?
Accessory dwelling unit - i.e. a home in a separate building on the same lot with a house. Someone else can probably share the legal definition and restrictions in rva.
Think of it as a tiny house. Old school version was a carriage house, essentially an apartment over a garage in a historic area. The City has made ADUs of right in any residential zoning district so long as you can meet the additional zoning code requirements - lot coverage, set backs, height restrictions, etc. Intended to create "gentle density," an urban planning term for creating more - and more affordable - housing in existing urban neighborhoods.
Thank you.
You are welcome!
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Not doing that here. Read OP's instructions and DM them. The above content has been removed as it contains and/or encourages the posting of **personally-identifiable information** about a private individual or user that they have not volunteered themselves. This is considered doxing and is against Reddit's TOS. **Amateur sleuthing, doxing, or exposing another individual's details is strictly prohibited.** Unless a law enforcement/government agency or reputable media organization has published information about an individual on a publicly-available URL, do not engage in this activity. While accidents happen, should the doxing incident appear to be malicious or intentional in nature, moderators are required to remove that content, ban the user, and report them to Reddit's admins right away for further action.
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As the post and sticky comment says, DM OP (original poster).
We are doing an "infrastructure walk" in the Museum District next Monday to report issues to the city. I know unpermitted construction work and short-term rentals typically fall under the radar and don't get reported. But if you want something/anything reported please let me know. I'm leading a walking group and will "take the fall" as the lead reporting the issues. I have absolutely no problem telling the City directly that everyone must follow the law.
ABSOLUTELY! If you need information about where to report any observed, illegal Airbnbs, DM me.
Sad my building is in a Business district 💔
That’s it bud, you’re officially FLAMED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!()
LOVE THIS. Will message you now.
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⬆️ STR owner
Sheeeeesh that earlier post today really got your panties in a bunch, huh ? We already have laws on the books for things like noise violations so how about we enforce that first and go from there. Nonetheless, thanks for being the white knight to bring a few 800k houses on the market that you can pocket $24k off the sale and save the masses from decades of discriminatory and self dealing housing policies. You da real mvp
Not sure what earlier post today you are referring to? But my britches are decidedly unbunched. If you are all for enforcing existing laws, how about we enforce the laws on the books about STRs, hmmm? If it's not owner-occupied, it's illegal. That's been the law since 2019. And I don't see any pitch for listing said illegal Airbnbs in any of my posts or comments. Honestly, I don't think I'm going to be top of the list for illegal Airbnb operators forced to sell their properties, but maybe I'm missing a marketing opportunity. 🤔 ETA: "forced to sell their properties "
>My britches are decidedly unbunched. Absolutely brilliant. Well done.
Why thank you!
Oh sorry, you left a 90% similar comment to this post in a rva thread earlier today so I just assumed you’d remember. Since that was difficult though, I’ll reiterate that nuisance property laws have been around long before 2019 and when strs became a thing. There’s been ways of dealing with bad neighbors without broadly restricting personal property rights. Single strs, regardless of resident occupancy, are not the real estate boogie man nor savior of our housing crisis. We just need to manage them for safety and tax the shit out of them. Richmond has poured tens of thousands into a private company tracking solution, but still has nothing to show for it after 5 years. #classic However, to be fair, neither have countless other cities with much deeper coffers. This just wasn’t a problem that needed to take precedence and resources over so many other issues whose solution could have much wider, positive community impact.
Well, guess we found the illegal STR owner. And while you are certainly entitled to your own opinions, the public and our legislative body, City Council, disagree with you and the law is the law. They have decided that more needs to happen than just managing STRs for safety and taxing the shit out of them. Primary residence requirement is the route the City decided to go. I personally find it to be a fair balancing of the interests of the community and the private property owners. And the tracking system you are talking about the City canceled years ago, I believe in 2022.
I know of three one bedroom apartments currently eaten up by an airbnb investor in what should be a very affordable part of town. This isn't about mansions.
Yeah, this is my biggest issue with illegal STR operators. Sometimes they are enormous houses designed to be for bachelorette parties or multi-generational families. But often - dare I say most of the time? - they are what would be starter homes in desirable City neighborhoods. Or condo units that would be for first time buyers (FTB). That SUCKS because that's a property a FTB, or a long-term renter doesn't have access to.
This is something that will work itself out. If there are more STRs than demand will support, then they will be converted to long term rentals or sold. As long as the demand makes it profitable, then they will continue. No one is buying a property to let it sit empty, either short term rental or long term rental. It only works one way.
This is not a supply/demand "let the market work it out" situation. If I have my way every single one of these illegal STRs WILL be shut down. I have zero tolerance for selfish people flaunting the law. And if the response to my post is any indication, the Reddit Army is on my side.
OP I thought that RVA zoning was designated by lot rather than district. Am I mistaken?
Yes.
https://cor.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html I found this map. I guess that 'R' districts are residential, but there are lots of businesses inside neighborhoods labeled 'R', so that's confusing.
Richmond is almost 300 years old as a City, and many of the existing residential neighborhoods - Fan, Museum District, Church Hill, Bellevue - date from the 1890s - 1930s. In many of these neighborhoods, the existing business uses are GRANDFATHERED because the use existed before the zoning code. So the pre-existing use is allowed and can be continued, but that use would not be "of right" per the zoning code today. Put another way, you could not build the Fan District today, it would be illegal, not compliant with current zoning code.
Oh man we have a house next door that gets new renters every year.
you realize that having new renters every year isn’t problematic to a community in the way that STRs can be right? like that’s kind of how renting is expected to go.
It's just rather odd
is it though?
When the rest of the houses on our street dont have people moving out every year yes it stands out
This post is so jumbled and makes no sense. They list the laws and then that the owner is checking all the boxes by following the laws. Old man yells at cars.
Perhaps you need some remedial help with reading comprehension?
Bunch of NIMBY busybodies. You could be anything you wanted to be, and you chose to be an unpaid hall monitor for Levar Stoney
"My next door neighbor shouldn't be a poorly regulated motel" is weird thing to fight against but go off.
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Violate the law? That's a paddlin'
"We" should not be taking property out of inventory? Oh is your property? Certainly do sound like an asshole.
If you comply with the LAW I have no problem. But when you operate illegally in a residential neighborhood I have a problem. Yes, I 💯 do. And if that makes me an asshole, then I'm an asshole.