Rules tighten for rental lake homes
August 26, 2010 at 7:00 pm in Alexandria Echo Press
If you advertise your lakeshore property as a short-term rental property as a weekend getaway, for instance you might want to check your mailbox. Continue Reading
Unbelievable! More government regulations dictating what we can and cannot do with our own private property. How much money is this unnecessary red tape going to cost the taxpayers?
Like or Dislike:
17 
8
It doesn’t sound like “more government regulations.” It sounds like they are complying with regulations that are already on the books, which seems appropriate and probably should have been done long ago.
What bothers me about it is the lack of fairness in the law. Why require licensing for owners that rent for 7 days or less but not for owners that rent for 8 days or more? Are weekly renters less concerned about tenant safety than seasonal renters? Are weekly renters less qualified to sell their product than seasonal renters? I think not!
If laws are not going to apply equitably, the law should not have passed in the first place and either should be stricken from the books or revised accordingly.
Like or Dislike:
15 
1
Agree with previous comment about what is the difference between weekly versus longer renter when it comes to safety etc. Having said that, why is this such a big deal? Is the Emergency Room full of weekly renters who have been injured? Are the courts full of lawsuits due to all of the injuries from weekly renters? I doubt it. Smells like more government…….trying to fix something that is not broken. (Suggested reading: The Death of Common Sense by Phillip K Howard.)
Like or Dislike:
9 
3
I completely agree with the proposed rules and regulations regarding health and safety issues for cabin rental owners, and here’s why.
We live next door to one and it is miserable! Some renters are decent: most are not. We have endured garbage in our yard, children and pets running unsupervised in our yard, strangers on our dock and beach, balls thrown against our house nearly missing windows, and vehicles driven across and parked on our lawn, to name a few. And the owner is one of the culprits. She has no consideration for the neighborhood. She’s a realtor who bought the property just for the money. (And we have to wonder if she pays taxes on this additonal income?? Probably not.) Regardless, this rental is a business and operated on the same premise as a resort, so it should be made to follow the same rules and regulations required by the state ESPECIALLY those of health and safety concerns.
Finally, why just 7 days or more? 30 days or more (as required by the original county ordinance) would be more appropriate.
Like or Dislike:
12 
3
My point was that we shouldn’t have two sets of rules regulating the same problems. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander so-to-speak. We do it all the time and I suppose a lot has to do with who’s in power, but it shouldn’t if we elected people in power that had the courage to stand up with their values rather than give in to the corruption of politics. We’ll regulate the little guy and turn a blind eye for the big guy all for the sake of the almighty dollar. In the end, the problem is never solved and a new one is created along with further separation between the classes.
Either apply the same rules across the board or don’t apply the rules at all is my suggestion.
Like or Dislike:
4 
2
Cheryl – you say “I completely agree with the proposed rules and regulations regarding health and safety issues for cabin rental owners, and here’s why.” You then go on to list a whole bunch of actions that likely would not be solved by inspecting the sewer connection or making sure that there are hand rails or smoke detectors. You have a problem that I’m not sure has much to do with the proposed regulations. (Unless possibly the feeling is that the current owner would not make the necessary changes to comply with the law and thus have to quit renting. – Which is a legitimate strategy!) Have you tried to have a meeting with the owner(s) and try to come to some truce? Have you called the sheriff regarding trespassing, noise, etc?
Like or Dislike:
6 
0
Roadhog:
I agree with you that I listed several problems we’ve had with this rental owner that may not necessarily pertain to the proposed health regulations, but yes, if these regulations become a reality, I wouldn’t be surprised if this owner completely ignores them. I say this because when the original ordinance of rental for 30 days or more was in place, this owner knew of the ordinance and blatantly ignored it. And we were told by the county that they sent her a letter advising her she was in violation of the ordinance. And she ignored that since she continued to rent. So why would she pay any attention to a new one?
We had been advised by several people to call the sheriff with these problems, but I’m afraid of possible retribution. We sometimes travel and if we should come home to find some damage that no one saw happen, what recourse would we have? And I’m sorry, but I find it hard to trust anyone who so easily can ignore the law and get away with it. That’s what’s happened here.
Like or Dislike:
4 
2
I’m confused. On the one hand you agree with adding more laws but on the other hand you point out that the existing laws are not being enforced. By your own admission you have chosen not to get involved and yet you complain about the problem. We expect our governing bodies to take care of us. One of the great benefits we enjoy as members of these United States is that WE ARE the governing body and since most of us tend to choose not get involved, is it any wonder we should expect anything less than what we get?
As members of this society it is our duty to uphold the laws of this land. One of the best ways an average citizen can do that is to help our law enforcement agencies by being an extension of their eyes and ears. Unfortunately too many of us are not willing to step up to that plate. We spend time passing blame and accusation but it ends there. In the mean time, problems that start small continue to grow into big problems. If we want the problem taken care of…if we want law enforcement to get involved and enforce the laws…if we want our neighbors to be held accountable then maybe WE need to take the bull by the horns and do our part too.
This reminds me of a scenario a physicist presented to illustrate the absurdity of our cold war with the former Soviet Union. Bear in mind that he proposed this view back in the early 1980’s and things got much worse before they got better. Between our two countries we had enough nuclear weapons to destroy the entire world. The destructive firepower alone of a full out nuclear exchange between the two super powers would been equivalent to nine times WWII and it would have been over in about four hours, not to mention that the resulting nuclear winter and radiation would have rendered the world uninhabitable to all life for generations. The scenario he used went like this.
The leaders of the US and USSR are locked in an enclosed 10’ x 10’ structure sitting in opposite corners. Each has a pile of dynamite and as they continue to argue with each other they each threaten to add more and more sticks to their pile. Obviously if either one lights the fuse of just one neither has a prayer it doesn’t matter how much bigger their pile grows as the result will be the same either way.
Does adding more laws to the pile serve anybody if we don’t enforce the laws already in the pile? Does adding more laws help you solve your problem with your neighbor if you are not willing to try and talk with your neighbor or report the problem if you can’t resolve it otherwise? How many of us violate the posted speed limit? Why do we do it? Because we are confident we can get away with it and usually we are correct. Adding more speeding laws would not change that any more than adding more laws will change your situation.
Like or Dislike:
5 
3
I agree that we need only one law to combat this lake rental problem. As I’ve already said, there WAS one law for this. This situation was taken to court awhile ago, but the judge ruled that the law was unenforceable. And, yes, we DID get involved. We went to court as witnesses, but we were not allowed to testify. We also have talked to several county officials regarding this matter, including the county attorney, obviously to no avail. Apparently, the law needs to be rewritten so it IS enforceable. One law would accomplish this and obviously it should include provisions for health concerns.
Like or Dislike:
2 
0
Now I’m curious. If you were called to testify then why were you not allowed to testify? Also, what was the reason for the courts to rule the law unenforceable?
You do make sense in one way and have basically restated my position when you said, “Apparently, the law needs to be rewritten so it IS enforceable.” There’s a difference between adding more laws and rewriting existing laws. Adding more laws to go unenforced does nothing whereas making corrections to existing laws at least has possibilities.
Like or Dislike:
2 
1