CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A growing number of people in Charlotte are earning extra cash by renting their homes on Airbnb. Staff with the City of Charlotte are working on the Unified Development Ordinance, which says what can be built in Charlotte and where. They recently released the second draft.
At first, there were some proposed short-term rental regulations on it, but now those have been removed.
“For now, it was removed from the latest draft, it will be adopted without short-term rental regulations," Chairperson of the Planning Commission Keba Samuel said.
City staff originally proposed requiring short-term rental operators to get a zoning use permit. It also required rentals of entire homes to be separated by at least 400 feet.
“The reason why it was included in the first place is because the massive amounts of complaints the city received regarding the uses of those Airbnbs, regarding parties," Samuel said.
From noise to parking problems, and even illegal activities -- the complaints on short-term rentals vary.
Now, the complaints could keep coming. The city is putting regulations on pause, citing a recent legal case in Wilmington, that may bring state legislation on what cities can and can't require of short-term rental operators.
“We want to make sure there’s nothing we would do that would expose the city to liability, so it's best we wait till the state rules on that," Samuel said.
This comes as Airbnb rentals are becoming more popular.
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According to Airdna, a vacation rental research firm, there are over 3,500 active rentals as of this month.
Samuel said the Unified Development Ordinance could make amendments in the future in regards to short-term rental regulations.
There is still time to express any concerns in the UDO. Those interested can submit a comment online. It is scheduled for a city council vote in late August.
Contact Lexi Wilson at lwilson@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.