Final Palm Springs Short Term Rental Ordinance

Here is the text of the (1) Short Term Rental Ordinance and the (2) Event Rental Ordinance that the City of Palm Springs enacted, effective October 2008.

Planning For Same Sex Marriages

Marriage equality in California is only a week away and thousands of same sex couples are planning to race to pick up marriage licenses. Reports are that in the Palm Springs area, the Riverside County Registrar’s office has filled appointments for 500 couples an hour during the first days after June 17, 2008.

We’ve been waiting our entire lives for equality, so the rush to exercise our new marriage rights is understandable. But couples may wish to hold off on getting married for a few weeks in order to make legal plans about their marriages and to be sure they understand just how marriage will affect them.

For one thing, California is a community property state. Generally, that means the state will assign each spouse fifty percent of the couples' assets earned and debts incurred during marriage to each spouse. Special care needs to be taken to keep “separate property” from becoming part of the marital estate if that is the desire of the couple.

Couples can alter community property laws if they do so via contract before getting married by using a premarital agreement – also known as a prenuptial agreement. These are legal and enforceable in California and in many other states but strict rules must be followed if they are to be valid.

What would couples wish to address in a premarital agreement? For starters, a same gender couple might want to specify that California courts will address any future marital issues involving the couple. Imagine two men living in Palm Springs get married this month. Two years from now, they move to Texas. Ten years from now, they want to divorce.

If Texas still refuses to recognize same gender marriage in 2018, the couple needs to be sure a California court can adjudicate their marriage dissolution. Laws already exist suggesting that would be the case, but a premarital agreement would ensure the right will exist.

A premarital agreement might address a whole range of federal rights that currently are not available to same gender spouses. And the premarital agreement might address what happens to those rights when the Defense of Marriage Act is finally repealed.

Of course, same gender spouses can use premarital agreements to plan for the same things as opposite gender spouses. In addition to property rights, couples may wish to address what happens upon a divorce or upon the death of one or both spouses. This also naturally leads to a discussion of estate planning questions that should be visited or re-visited upon marriage.

California law requires a premarital agreement be entered into at least seven days prior to marriage – and the greater amount of time between executing the agreement and the wedding, the better. So contact a family law or trust and estates lawyer to discuss what marriage really means and whether you would benefit from a premarital agreement.

If you just can’t wait to get married, you might be able to enter into a post-nuptial agreement. These agreements, however, are not always enforceable. So your best bet is to talk with an attorney before you get married.

And, finally, let’s all be sure to celebrate marriage equality with contributions to defeat the California Constitutional Initiative on the ballot this November that would end marriage equality. Go to EqualityforAll.com and donate to support the right of all couples to marry.

PS Vacation Rental Ordinance

On May 21, 2008, a draft vacation rental ordinance was presented to Palm Springs City Council for discussion. After presentations by the Palm Springs Office of Neighborhoods, a representative of the local vacation rental companies and members of the public, there appeared to be solid support behind the ordinance with a few changes. We should expect to see a final draft presented to the Council for approval in the coming months.

You can read a copy of the draft ordinance HERE.

When the Palm Springs City Council was presented with a draft Vacation Rental Ordinance to discuss, comments were provided by the Palm Springs Office of Neighborhoods, a representative of the vacation rental industry and various members of the public. Council reaction indicates solid support for an ordinance with some minor changes from the draft.

The entire draft Vacation Rental Ordinance can be found online on my website: MahlowitzLaw.com.

A summary of the provisions of the draft ordinance follows:

1. Who does it Cover?

Every owner of a vacation rental, either personally or through an agent, will be required to obtain a Vacation Rental Registration Certificate for each property that is to be rented. No vacation rental may be made without a Certificate.

2. What is a Vacation Rental?

A residential dwelling rented for 28 days or less.

3. What is a Vacation Rental Registration Certificate?

A permit for which a vacation rental owner must apply each year.

4. What information is required to obtain a Certificate?

Owner name and contact information

Contact information of any agent

Contact information for the Local Contact Person. Local Contact Person is someone available 24/7 to respond “promptly” to complaints about the rental

Number of bedrooms and applicable overnight and daytime occupancy limit for the unit Proof of a Transient Occupancy Tax registration certificate.

5. What conditions are imposed on Owners?

· The owner or agent must be available 24/7 to respond to complaints.

· Owner must ensure renters do not create unreasonable noise or disturbances.

· No amplified music or sound may be permitted outdoors.

· Must obtain name address and drivers license of Renter and that Renter execute a formal acknowledgment that the Renter will comply with the Municipal Code.

· Once notified of noise or disturbance Owner must take steps to prevent it in the future.

· The owner must place a copy of the Certificate and rules in the rental unit.

6. How are violations handled?

· Violations of these provisions are a misdemeanor and are enforced by the City.

· After four violations within two years, the City Manager may suspend the Vacation Rental Certificate.

Palm Springs Draft Vacation Rental Ordinance Due

The first public draft of a new Palm Springs Vacation Rental Ordinance is due to be made available to the public tomorrow. This ordinance results from two-years of work first started by the Palm Springs Office of Neighborhoods. It should go a long way toward giving tools to residents when faced with noise and other behavior problems from vacation rentals, while also preserving owner rights to rent and support the local tourism-based economy.

More when the ordinance is made public.

New California Bill to Change HOA Rental Rules

Assembly Bill 2259, pending in the California Assembly, would prohibit home owner associations (“HOA”) in common interest developments from changing the rights of an owner to rent or lease his/her separate interest for the life of the buyer after the date the owner purchases. Subsequent changes in HOA rental rules would take effect if the owner agrees to new rules or when the owner sells or dies.

The proposed law does not prohibit an HOA from limiting rental rights. If passed, the law will freeze in place an HOA’s existing rental rules.

The Bill will require HOA rental policies be disclosed as part of the Transfer Disclosure Statement in all real estate transactions that require a Transfer Disclosure Statement.

Bill Status

AB 2259 was authored by the California Association of Realtors and introduced by Assembly Member Gene Mullin of San Mateo. It passed the Assembly’s Housing and Judiciary Committees on unanimous votes (including a Yes vote from 80th Assembly Member Bonnie Garcia) and is currently awaiting a vote by the full Assembly. With no strong opposition, it will likely pass both the Assembly and Senate and be presented to the Governor by the fall. If signed, it would take effect January 1, 2009.

Rationale

Rental rights are an important property right that factor into a buyer’s purchasing decision. After purchasing, the buyer should not be subject to potential changes in the right to rent.

The Assembly’s analysis of the bill reports that there are over 41,000 Common Interest Developments (“CID”) in the state that range in size from three to 27,000 units. There are more than four million CID housing units in California, representing 25 percent of the state's housing stock.

According to the Bill’s author, many people need to rent their units because of job relocation or personal situations. The ability to rent a unit has recently become more important due to the deteriorating housing market. With weak demand, it takes a long time for an owner to sell a home and if the house is sold, it may well be at at a financial loss for the owner. The right to lease owned real property is a valuable property right which AB 2259 seeks to protect.

AB 2259 seeks to preserve the right of a member of an HOA to lease his/her home as the right existed when the home was purchased. If the members of a HOA vote to pass a restriction on rentals, the restriction would not apply to an owner that had the right to rent or lease when they purchased unless the owner agrees to waive his/her right in writing. Once the existing owner sells their home new rental restriction approved by the members will apply to the unit.

What to Do Now

Lobby If your HOA strongly opposes the Bill, contact Assembly and Senate members. Links to all Assembly and Senate offices can be found at http://www.legislature.ca.gov.

Review Your CCRs This Bill stands a good chance of becoming law. It would be wise for every HOA to review the rental rules within its CCRs well before the law takes effect – which is likely January 1, 2009. Amending CCRs is more complex than amending an HOAs bylaws, so a head-start is a good idea.

If your HOA is comfortable with current rental rules, nothing more need be done. If your HOA would like to amend or impose rental rules, now is the time to act. If this bill becomes law on January 1, 2009, changes to your HOA rental rules will only take effect unit-by-unit as owners sell, pass away or agree in writing to new rental rules.