SAN ANTONIO – Short-term rentals, like Airbnb and Vrbo, appear to be in San Antonio for the long-term, and the city is poised to take another look at how it handles them.
The City of San Antonio has had rules on the books for short-term rentals, or STRs, since late 2018, including density limits, a permit process and violations that could get a property’s permit revoked.
However, some community members think more could be done to enforce the rules and ensure all rentals are registered.
In a Thursday presentation to the Planning and Community Development Committee, city staff said there are 3,240 active STR permits, many of which are in District 1 neighborhoods around the city core. The city works with a third-party company to collect Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) from the STRs, and staff says they’ve provided estimates that there are another 1,200 to 1,500 STRs operating without the proper, three-year $100 permit.
“We believe, based on our third party’s (information), it’s currently at about 70% compliance. That’s not great. It’s not terrible, but we want that higher,” Development Services Director Michael Shannon told the committee.
The head of the Short Term Rental Association of San Antonio, Chair Shelley Galbraith, sees unpermitted STRs as unfair neighborhoods and other STR owners.
“For one thing, our prices are a little bit higher because of the tax. And it, you know, we hear it from our neighbors and from the neighborhood associations that they don’t like the fact that enforcement is difficult,” Galbraith said.
Most of the city’s registered STRs are what are known as “Type 2″ under the city regulations, which means the owner doesn’t live on site. These are generally the biggest source of concern for neighbors, who have concerns about how the revolving cast of renters will treat the property.
“Party houses” were of particular concern to community members speaking at Thursday’s meeting, with some recounting stories of out-of-control parties.
Shannon said the city’s rules already prohibit STRs from being used as event venues, which can lead to an immediate revocation.
The city has begun more vigorously enforcing its STR ordinance now that operators have had several years to get used to the rules. Of the 1,366 permits it has revoked, 932 of them were in the 2023 fiscal year, which ended in September. According to a city memo, most of those were over-delinquent HOT payments.
Still, some think enforcement efforts could be improved.
Former District 1 Councilman Mario Bravo submitted a formal request for the city to re-examine its rules in December 2022 and specifically mentioned enforcement and permit compliance as issues. The request stalled out, though, after he lost his re-election bid to Councilwoman Sukh Kaur in June.
However, three of the co-signers to Bravo’s CCR are on the Planning and Community Development Committee, which indicated Thursday it still wants city staff to convene a group of stakeholders and follow through with a review of the ordinance.
After the meeting, Shannon said the staff would put together a plan and bring it back to the next PCDC meeting.