Officials to look at regulations for rentals
Airbnb and other properties could see taxes, licensing fees
Tinley Park officials are moving forward with plans to license and regulate short-term rentals of homes in response to complaints from residents about one such property.
As an income source, homeowners will rent rooms or an entire house on online sites such as Airbnb and Vacation Rentals by Owner, and other Chicago suburbs, such as Evanston, Naperville and Schaumburg, have taxed or licensed such properties.
Tinley Park has seven homes that are advertised for short-term rentals and is considering limiting rentals to owner-occupied homes.
“This will eliminate the concern of commercial investors from dominating the short-term rental market and provide a sense of accountability between neighbors within the neighborhood,” Kimberly Clarke, village planning manager, wrote in a memo to the Village Board’s Community Development Committee, which discussed the issue at a meeting Tuesday.
At the meeting, Clarke told trustees that there “are companies that want to buy up properties and run them as Airbnbs without anyone living there.”
While Tinley Park has just a handful of homes offering shortterm rentals, Clarke cautioned that “this is a big industry” and that “we’re not just seeing it in touristy areas.”
Licensing fees could mirror current fees the village assesses for long-term rentals, with an annual fee of $50 for a one- or two-bedroom and $100 for three or more bedrooms, according to the proposed regulations.
The village’s community development department would process applications for short-term rentals, with the village manager either approving or denying rather than having applications go before the Village Board, according to the proposal.
Applications would be viewed with an eye toward whether the rental would “have a substantial adverse impact on the use, enjoyment, or property values of adjoining properties,” and whether there would be “an adverse effect upon the public health, welfare or safety,” according to a proposed ordinance regulating short-term rentals.
Residents living near one property advertised for short-term rental had complained to the village about large parties being held at the home, including one in late November in which police were called.
There were no arrests or charges lodged, but a police incident report noted 40 cars in the cul-de-sac parked haphazardly, with some blocking fire hydrants as well as a livestock trailer that was partly obstructing the street. Party attendees left without further incident after police arrived, according to the report.
According to the proposed ordinance, owners of homes offering short-term rentals would be required to keep a register of the names of every guest and their arrival and departure dates, with the register made available to any village department, such as police, fire or code enforcement. Property owners also would need to provide adequate off-street parking for people renting the home, and there is the possibility of regulating how many renters would be allowed to occupy a home at any given time.
Property inspections for life-safety issues also could be a requirement of licensing, and officials were weighing whether shortterm rentals would have to comply with Tinley Park’s hotel-motel tax on room rentals. In her memo, Clarke said that the administrative cost associated with collecting the tax, due to the small number of homes currently advertised as rentals, might not make imposing the tax worthwhile.
Apart from the Village Board approving an ordinance regulating shortterm rentals, the village’s Plan Commission would need to modify the zoning ordinance to include the use of short-term rentals in the zoning code.