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Jacqueline F. Maloney
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Gambit > bestofneworleans.com > JANUARY 8 > 2013
mayoralty permit requires an owner to live in the house as his or her primary residence. Part-time New Orleans residents, who might be especially inclined to rent a home to tourists, have no way of doing it legally. “You have to have a homestead exemption on that property and show that you live there,” she said. “There’s just no place for them in the works anywhere. There’s a need for that kind of language and there’s a need for that kind of rental.” Rabe said PIANO has been discussing the creation of a new designation that would allow for vacation home rentals to be licensed and taxed. “It’s an exorbitant amount of money that is not going to be taxed,” Rabe said. “That’s our big thing: We’re all paying taxes. We’re property owners in the city of New Orleans. They’re not contributing to the city tax base. That’s our really big sticking point. We welcome properties to get licensed and join our community. There’s a definite need for that.” So what’s the city doing about illegal rentals? “The City looks into properties that have received complaints, and when applicable, the Bureau of Revenue will send an administrative subpoena that asks the resident or business to come into compliance with the law,” mayoral spokesman Ryan Berni wrote in an email. “Given the resources we have, we do what we can to discourage companies who are actively advertising illegal short-term rentals.” The law also requires the city to publish a semi-annual report on illegal short-term rental enforcement on its website, which it has not done. Gambit filed a request for records of subpoenas issued and city’s followup actions for the last six months, but as of press time had not received the information. Furness said he doesn’t think the city should go after every advertised property, but he would like to see more enforcement of large-scale guesthouses and real estate agents who advertise multiple properties for many homeowners. “There are two types of illegal shortterm rental operations. … Those on VRBO — you have to pony up money, that’s not a freebie — or [those with] a website,” he said. “There’s all kinds of ways to interact with them. Those are illegal rentals being operated as a business. That has to be the first target. But when your cousin Jed rents his house in Lakeview out for the Super Bowl, that’s more of a mom-and-pop-type thing. That should maybe not come first.”
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