New rules take effect Oct. 1 to improve short-term rentals

Recently, the Portland City Council adopted changes to the City’s Zoning Code that affect the operations of accessory short-term rentals (ASTR). These changes, effective Oct. 1, include:

1. Advertising restrictions: No advertisement for a short-term rental can state more than the approved number of bedrooms or guests authorized by either a Type A permit (for one or two bedrooms and no more than five overnight guests) or a Type B conditional use (for three to five bedrooms). This includes any wording, images or descriptions indicating a higher capacity available for the approved number of bedrooms or guests. If a host violates this, they are subject to penalties that include fines and potential permit revocation. Hosts are encouraged to review their current advertisements to ensure compliance by Oct. 1.
2. Notarized signatures will no longer be required: Applications for Type A permits (including renewals) will no longer require notarized signatures. The signatures of the property owner, resident (if different from the property owner) and operator, submitted through Civic Portal or on a paper form, will be sufficient.
3. Guest logs will no longer be required, but guest data must be maintained: The maintenance of a guest log book will no longer be necessary. However, a host must provide transactional data from the listing platform that includes guests’ names, guests’ phone numbers and home addresses, their dates of stay and numbers of guests when requested by the City. Failure to provide transactional data within 30 days of a request by the City is a violation and subject to enforcement or permit revocation.
   
   Important Note: Type A and Type B ASTRs are accessory to a residential use in that the property must have a primary resident in compliance with the regulations. The City will request transactional data to investigate and enforce against operations that do not comply with the primary resident requirement.
    
4. New Type B conditional uses will no longer be allowed in commercial/mixed-use, employment and industrial zones: Accessory short-term rentals in these zones where three or more bedrooms are rented to overnight guests will be regulated as a Retail Sales and Service use. Existing Type B conditional uses in these zones may continue to operate per the terms of their Conditional Use approvals.
5. There will be a two-year exclusion applied to the dwelling unit following a Type A permit revocation: If a Type A permit is revoked, a new Type A accessory short-term rental permit will not be issued for that dwelling unit for two years. This restriction previously applied to a site’s resident rather than the dwelling unit.

In addition to the changes described above, the Revenue Division reviews short-term rental operations to ensure compliance with the City’s regulations. Accessory short-term rental operations may not conduct business if the property does not maintain a permit or conditional use that supports its listing on the City’s Short-Term Rental Registry. If a property is discovered that does not appear on the City’s Short-Term Rental Registry, the City, at a minimum, will request the property be delisted from the hosting platform. If the property returns to short-term operation without being listed on the City’s Short-Term Rental Registry, this will be considered an aggravating factor in terms of enforcement action.

More information about the rules guiding the operation of accessory short-term rentals can be found online at portland.gov/astr.

The enforcement measures the City of Portland may take to ensure compliance with ASTR regulations are described in the ASTR Enforcement Permanent Rule.

If you have questions about these new rules, please contact the Property Compliance Division of Portland Permitting & Development at PPDAccessoryShortTermRental@portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-2633.