Anaheim may freeze plans for new short-term rentals

A surge in complaints about noise and parking problems at short-term rentals near Disneyland Resort is pushing the Anaheim City Council to consider a moratorium on property owners who rent out their homes and apartments.

The council is scheduled Tuesday afternoon to consider an urgency ordinance to freeze for 45 days the approval of permits for the type of short-term rentals that are found on such popular lodging websites as Airbnb and VRBO.

City officials estimate that nearly 400 homes and apartments in Anaheim are rented on a short-term basis, with the city receiving five to 10 applications a week for new rentals. By comparison, the city is home to 150 hotels with nearly 20,000 rooms.

Many cities have grappled with how to regulate short-term rentals, particularly in tourist hot spots. Some community activists complain that the rentals disrupt neighborhoods and take needed housing off the residential market.

Hotel taxes generated about $110 million for Anaheim last year, more than 40% of the city’s general fund revenue. The city collects an annual $250 registration fee from each short-term rental.

Because of the popularity of Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, rooms in Anaheim rent for an average of $184 a night, compared with Orange County’s average of $174 a night, according to data from PKF Consulting USA, a lodging industry research firm.

Short-term rentals may be on the rise because millennials and other young travelers prefer renting an entire house or apartment to staying in a hotel, said Bruce Baltin, a senior vice president at PKF.

“People like the Airbnb concept,” he said.

But a city report says the Anaheim Police Department has registered about 300 calls to investigate short-term rentals in the last year, including more than 100 complaints of loud parties or disturbances and 50 involving parking or traffic problems.

“In addition to these operational issues, local residents frequently complain about the uneasy feeling caused by a constant and ever-changing influx of ‘strangers’ into their neighborhood,” according to the report.

Airbnb spokeswoman Alison Schumer rejected the suggestion that short-term rentals are being used as party houses for youngsters. She said the average age of an Airbnb guest in Anaheim is 34.

A moratorium, according to city officials, would give staff time to investigate new regulations such as limits on the geographic concentration of rental properties and restrictions on the total number of bedrooms a property owner can add to maximize rental profits.

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