Restrictions and accountability measures for short-term rentals may soon be coming to Cleveland, as concerns of partying, noise and violence continue to escalate.
City council is reviving legislation originally introduced two years ago that would require business owners affiliated with companies like Airbnb or Vrbo to register their rental and obtain a license from the city. The city would also impose the 3% bed tax already in place for hotel stays shorter than 30 days.
Jasmin Santana, who chairs council's Development, Planning and Sustainability committee, said the proposal is a direct response to residents' concerns about how rentals properties impact their neighborhoods.
"All the partying that's taken place, the noise complaints, the parking overflow, the trash 鈥� and it's very hard to reach these business owners or Airbnb in real time," Santana said. "So, we're just trying to improve these processes and just make our neighborhoods safer. People should not have to endure these types of nuisances."
Beyond the originally proposed regulations, Santana said amendments will be added. She plans to limit the number of short-term rentals per residential block and require a local point of contact, similar to the city's Residents First laws.
"We need to have a management property or contact on file, so if some incident happens, we could call right away for it to be addressed," Santana said.
Before she moves forward, Santana wants to ensure the city's capacity for enforcement. She pointed to enforcement issues with other legislation, such as the city's regulations on vape shops.
"Not one vape shop in my neighborhood closed after we passed that legislation ... so we need to ensure that everyone across every department is educated and fully clear on what to expect," Santana said. "There's a lot of things that are not clear, but my number one issue is enforcement."
Santana said the city's only current enforcement mechanism is to deploy police officers to respond to problem properties.
"We need to also bring [public safety] to the table," Santana said. "We know that police are already stretched thin."
The law was first proposed in 2024 by Kerry McCormack, who represented parts of Downtown and the Near West Side, including Ohio City and Tremont. Austin Davis, who now represents that ward, said those areas are likely the densest for short-term rentals, but without a registry, there is no way to be sure.
"As far as I know, Cleveland's one of the very few major metro areas without a regulatory regime in place for short-term rentals," Davis said. "I'm excited to get this across the finish line."
Davis acknowledges a market and demand for short-term rentals to promote economic activity and tourism but said he's deeply troubled by violent incidents in his neighborhoods.
"For example, there isn't a hotel near MetroHealth, so short-term rentals surrounding that area make a lot of sense for people visiting their loved ones," Davis said. "Or just in general, the need for short-term rentals makes sense to me. I like that we have bars and restaurants in Tremont, Ohio City, Gordon Square, where the more business they get, the healthier our economy is, and short-term rentals are maybe part of that mix, but when it crosses into violence and chaos, we need the government to step in on this stuff."
Davis said short-term rentals were among the chief complaints from residents on his campaign trail last year. Since taking office in January, he's already dealt with major issues in his ward, including .
Airbnb and Vrbo policies prohibit large and disruptive parties and requires hosts to follow city laws. But it's clear, council members say, those rules are not being followed.
"The first drive-by shooting I saw in my life was from my own living room, because it was across the street at an Airbnb party that got out of control," Davis said.
The proposed legislation would also lay out penalties. The city could, for example, impose fines or revoke the license of those who don鈥檛 adhere to city laws.
Santana said council hopes to pass the law before council breaks for recess in June ahead of the summer tourism season.
