By Marsha Sandman | CNA Media Team
short-term rentals. Photo by Marsha Sandman
When money comes knocking at your door do you answer? You might if you own one of the 116 accessory short-term rentals in the Concordia neighborhood.
What is an accessory short-term rental (ASTR)? According to the Portland Bureau of Development Services (BDS), “An ASTR is where an individual or family resides in a dwelling unit and rents bedrooms to overnight guests for less than 30 days.”
Regulations allow ASTRs in houses, attached houses, duplexes, manufactured homes on their own lots, and accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Each ASTR type has unique requirements based on the number of bedrooms and structure type. Six or more guest room rentals at one time are not considered ASTRs.
If sharing your home or ADU sounds appealing, there are a few hoops the city requires you to jump through:
- Fill out an application.
- Notify your immediate neighbors with the city’s form letter, “Neighborhood Notice.”
- Pay a permit fee rental ($180 and more).
- Obtain a permit from BDS every two years ($50 and more). In the intervening renewal years – or years two, four, eight, 10, etc. – the resident may self-certify compliance with the bedroom requirements.
- Have the rental bedroom(s) inspected by BDS. Rental bedroom(s) are inspected every six years thereafter.
Still interested in that knock on your door? Each bedroom must have a smoke detector and may require a carbon monoxide detector.
Hosts with ASTR permits are required to occupy their residences for at least 270 days during each calendar year.
There are no limits to the number of nights you may have a short-term rental. The maximum number of days you may be away from home and renting to overnight guests is 95, or roughly three months.
Rules, rules, rules. If you operate an ASTR without the required permit, you’ll be found in violation of Portland City Code and subject to citations with civil penalties of $1,000 to $5,000. So it’s a good idea to know what you are doing before you answer that knock at your door.
For questions about ASTRs and the general inspection process, visit PortlandOregon.gov or call 503.823.7526.
If you own an ASTR or live near one, and you have an opinion you’d like to share in a subsequent issue of CNews, please contact Marsha.
After living east, south, north and west, Marsha Sandman is home at last. And she wants to hear your story. Contact her at MarshaJSandman@ gmail.com.