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Reynoldsburg weighs short‑term rental rules: staff proposes permits, three‑night minimum and fines
Summary
City staff presented two draft ordinances to regulate short‑term rentals, reporting about 40 active listings and proposing a permit requirement, a three‑night minimum stay and enforcement options including fines up to $1,000 and permit revocation; council asked staff to return revised drafts.
City staff updated the Public Safety, Law & Courts Committee on short‑term rentals during a work session at the May 11 meeting, presenting two draft regulatory options and new data on local listings.
Staff reported approximately 40 listings within city limits — a mix of whole‑home listings and individual rooms — and described two draft ordinances. "They both include a permit requirement, with the ability to revoke that permit," staff told council, and both drafts would require a minimum rental period of three nights and allow penalties for violations. The stricter draft would add a primary‑residence requirement and impose a two‑week (14‑day) annual cap on rental nights per property owner; the less strict draft omits those provisions but retains enforcement teeth including staggered permit revocation and the possibility of misdemeanor citations and fines up to $1,000 for repeat violations.
Council members asked about enforcement, occupancy limits, and special circumstances such as insurance‑sourced short‑term housing after disasters. Some members warned that a 14‑day annual cap is effectively a ban and would be hard to enforce; others supported strong penalties to deter party‑style uses that have produced complaints in other jurisdictions. One council member said they were "probably surprisingly to myself leaning towards supporting even a total ban," while another emphasized focusing on enforcement mechanisms (permit revocation and fines) rather than upfront prohibitions.
Staff noted model provisions used by nearby jurisdictions — for example, primary‑residence rules that require documentation such as tax forms or bills — and offered to research occupancy calculations and options for limits on additional guests. The committee asked staff to revise the drafts based on council feedback and return with updated legislation at the next meeting.
Next steps: staff will prepare revised ordinance language for the committee, clarifying enforcement mechanisms, occupancy/guest definitions, and how primary‑residence or annual‑day caps would be implemented and measured.
