I received a certified letter from the city of Bellingham, WA indicating that I am operating an illegal “bed and breakfast”. The letter states that the city’s intent is to not allow short term (less than 1 month) rentals in a residential neighborhood. They indicate that I must shut down by August 1st or face enforcement action.
I called the city planning department and talked with the person that sent the letter. He said that, while this “short term” rental rule is not in writing, it is the intent of the code. When I pressed him about the hundreds of other Airbnb’s in town, he said they are not staffed to inforce the code but deal with this issue on a case-by-case basis when they receive a complaint.
According to this planner, our only option is to file for a conditional use permit to operate as a bed and breakfast. This sounds like a fairly lengthy and costly process and there is a good chance that the city will not issue a permit as it is at the discretion of the planning commissioner.
I find it hard to believe that a city could operate on rules that our not documented. I also think that it is unfortunate the other people renting through these services are likely unaware that they are only one complaint away from being shut down.
Any advice would be appreciated.
