Behind Santa Barbara’s Short-Term Rental Crackdown

In its first year, the team of special investigators tasked with getting a handle on Santa Barbara’s illegal short-term rentals collected more than $595,000 from just 40 properties operating unpermitted rentals in the city. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg, and after the one-year pilot program was deemed a success by the city council Tuesday, the enforcement team has the green light to go after the estimated 1,147 illegal rentals that are known to be still out there. 

The short-term rental enforcement team released the numbers earlier this week: an estimated 1,298 illegal rentals discovered through an online database; 106 cases from citizen complaints and 46 cases found through proactive enforcement; 25 cases currently in the court system. And most impressive of all, the program spent so judiciously that it only used a fraction of its budget — under $100,000 of its allotted $1.175 million.

City Attorney Assistant City Attorney Denny Wei and City Attorney’s Office Investigator William Alva provided the city council on April 16 with an update on the enforcement program’s first year. 

Alva detailed how they built the team from the ground up, making sure to be cost-effective every step of the way. To save money, the city hired a team of four retired law enforcement as special investigators.“Since they already have the investigative skills and experience,” Alva said, “all we had to teach them was the municipal codes and how they apply inland and coastal.”

These investigators were retired commanders with Oxnard Police, Ventura Police, and Ventura County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigations. Brenda Craig, a retired supervisor from the City’s Finance Department, was later hired on as an administrative analyst.

The team learned on the fly, Alva said, taking complaints and knocking on doors, interviewing tenants and neighbors to identify illegal short-term rentals. They focused on complaints first because these were the properties that were already impacting neighborhoods, Wei said.

Out of the 151 cases they have looked into so far, 57 are still under progress. 18 were unfounded, and six were reported outside city limits in Goleta, Carpinteria, or Montecito.

[Click to enlarge] Map showing illegal short-term rentals in Santa Barbara | Credit: Courtesy

The enforcement program found a few interesting illegal cases. In one, a major chain hotel was offering a short term-rental to its members through a rewards system; in another, a shed was illegally rented with a shower and kitchen; another property owner had guests book directly over the phone without any online hosting at all.

“They’re all complex cases in their own little way,” Alva said. “But as a team, we’re doing our best to get this rock moving and up over this hill, so with your help we’re hoping that we can continue on with this battle.”

The program was praised by every member of the council. Councilmember Mike Jordan, who said he thought short-term rentals was only a “coastal zone problem,” was stunned to see the investigators’ map of short-term rentals found through the online database, which was packed with more than a thousand blue and gray dots covering every part of the city.

Councilmember Eric Friedman said the program so far has been the “definition of success,”  and requested that the city look into tightening zoning codes to crack down on short-term rentals even further. 

Councilmember Kristen Sneddon said the fact they were able to do this at such a low cost was “really incredible,” and she supported extending the program even longer than one more year. She requested that the city also look into a rental registry, which could help city investigators identify how properties were being used.

The council unanimously extended the enforcement program for another year, with the intent to eventually make it a permanent fixture to take on the remaining illegal rentals. Council also directed staff to schedule a discussion on short-term rentals on June 11. 

To report a short-term rental, call the hotline at (805)897-1934 or fill out the form online at www.santabarbaraca.gov/STR.