Hello fellow hosts,
As some local hosts in Riverside County may know, there was a new ordinance (Ord. 927) passed erlier this year (2016) that outlines what a short term rental is, the new permit process, etc. Today, while I was reviewing a packet I recieved from the Tax Collector's office, I found that the Tax Collector in Riverside County is using an old ordinance (Ord. 495) as their stated basis for collecting back tax. Upon inspection, ordinance 495 and the new ordinance (927) have descrepancies between them - mainly in the definitions of what a hotel is and what it is not. Based on the tax collectors position, they are labeling all less than 30 day Airbnb/ VRBO short term rental owners/ operators as 'hotel owner/ operators' and attempting to collect taxes with from this position. Accorting to ordinance 927, a short term rental is not a hotel - merely a private residence. I also contacted the busines registration department with Riverside County and they said that I do not need to obtain a business liscence to operate a short term rental -- so technically speaking, owning a short term rental is not qualified as a business according to the Riverside County new business registration [department].
Ordinance 495 and 927 essentially contradict themselves.
Are there any hosts here that can offer a closer legal review on this matter?
Thank you,
Matt