Short-Term Rentals Banned For At Least Six Months

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Short-Term Rentals

Naperville City Council voted unanimously to ban short-term rentals like Airbnbs and VRBOs from operating in Naperville for at least six months.

According to City Attorney Mike DiSanto, the ban will go into effect September 1, but bookings that were made prior to council’s decision can be honored if they’re for a stay within the next 60 days.

“People may have booked and made plans to stay in these rentals without being aware that council was going to take this action, and so we believe that puts us on the firmest legal ground,” said DiSanto.

Problem Properties

The discussion was sparked by months of complaints and issues with STRs, particularly one property on Santa Maria Drive described as a “party house.”

Councilman Patrick Kelly said he spoke with the owners of that property and they agreed to stop renting it at the end of the month.

Fines for violating the ban were set at $1,000 for a first offense and $2,500 for subsequent offenses.

Revisiting the Issue

Several council members expressed a desire to revisit the issue after city staff has a chance to research whether short-term rentals could be reasonably regulated and enforced.

“This is a business working out of an R1 zoning area. We need to look at this in depth,” said Councilwoman Patty Gustin. “But I agree, we need to go forward with the ban but we need to reevaluate in some period of time.”

A stipulation to return to the topic within six months was included in the motion.

Naperville News 17’s Casey Krajewski reports.

 

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