(a) An application for a new hotel/motel or short-term rental permit, and/or for renewal of a permit, shall be made to the Director upon an approved form, provided by the License Section. The Director shall establish associated permit fees and costs, with a portion of the short-term rental permit fees supporting affordable housing and home-ownership opportunities in the City of Portsmouth.
(b) The application for a permit to operate a hotel/motel or short-term rental shall contain the following information:
(1) Name of the applicant, mailing address, telephone number, and email address. If the applicant is an entity, the applicant shall provide the name of the entity set forth exactly as shown on its articles of incorporation, mailing address, telephone number, and email address of an individual who is the statutory agent, president, or managing individual, the state in which the company is incorporated or registered, and the entity or corporation number. The short-term rental applicant shall provide to the Director one form of proof of identity, and two pieces of evidence that the applicant's dwelling is the short-term rental applicant's primary residence as defined in Section 777.01(s), and/or the short-term rental applicant is the owner of the dwelling, and/or the applicant is the permanent occupant.
(2) Name or description of the dwelling property address, and where applicable, a registered telephone number for the property location;
(3) Name of the owner of the dwelling or the property, mailing address, telephone number, and email address. If an entity is the owner of dwelling or the property, the applicant shall provide the name of the entity set forth exactly as shown on its articles of incorporation as well as the mailing address, telephone number, and email address of an individual who is the statutory agent, president, or managing individual, the state in which the entity is incorporated or registered, and the entity or corporation number;
(4) If an owner of the property or dwelling has executed a land contract, lease agreement, management agreement, or any other agreement separating the owner from control over the property and/or dwelling, the applicant shall include a copy of said document along with the application. In order to receive a permit, such documentation must explicitly provide consent for a dwelling to be used as a short-term rental. Absence of such a clause or evidence of a prohibition of a short-term rental shall be grounds for a denial of a short-term rental permit;
(5) The addresses and/or names of any other short-term rental(s) located in the City of Portsmouth that the applicant has any interest in, including, but not limited to, ownership, licensure, or management. If applicable, the duly authorized agent shall list the applicant's aforementioned interest(s);
(6) Name of the manager or short-term rental host, mailing address, telephone number, and email address;
(7) The number of guestrooms in service or offered, listed, advertised, or marketed in the short-term rental;
(8) The names of all hosting platforms on which the applicant has successfully been registered to offer, list, advertise, or market a short-term rental, and documentation confirming hosting platform registration(s);
(9) An application for a short-term rental permit shall be notarized and the applicant shall affirm that he/she/it and the dwelling are in compliance with all applicable local, state, and federal laws and regulations.
(10) At the time of application for a new permit or renewal of a short-term rental permit, all of the following persons are required to provide the results of a fingerprint-based background check performed by a provider approved by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation:
A. The applicant,
B. The short-term rental host, if different than the applicant,
D. The short-term rental property manager, if applicable
E. If the applicant is a domestic business entity other than a general partnership, then the applicant must provide a copy of the entity's articles of incorporation, articles of organization, statement of partnership authority, certificate of limited partnership, or statement of domestic qualification filed with the Ohio Secretary of State.
F. If the applicant is a foreign business entity other than a foreign general partnership, then the applicant must provide a copy of the foreign business entity's license, registration, or qualification filed with the Ohio Secretary of State authorizing it to do business in Ohio.
G. For all business entity applicants, an individual who is either the statutory agent, a partner, the president, or in the case of an LLC, a managing individual must submit to and provide the results of a BCI background check.
(c) A short-term rental applicant may submit an application for a new short-term rental permit at any time to the Director. If the application is approved by the License Section and a new short-term rental permit is issued, the permit shall take effect on the date of issuance and shall expire one calendar year from the date of issuance. If the permit is issued in conjunction with and contingent upon an explicit and consensual term lease agreement, as contemplated in Section 777.03(b)(4), the permit shall take effect on the date of issuance and shall expire upon the last day of the applicant's leasehold term or at the end of one calendar year from the date of issuance, whichever occurs first. Proof of a lease agreement, as defined in Section 777.03(b)(4), indicating the leasehold term length, shall be required where applicable.
(d) A short-term rental applicant may submit an application for a short-term rental renewal permit prior to the permit expiration date. If approved, the short-term rental renewal permit shall take effect upon the expiration of the previous permit. The renewal permit shall expire one calendar year from the effective date. If the permit is renewed in conjunction with and contingent upon an explicit and consensual term lease agreement, as contemplated in Section 777.03(b)(4), the renewal permit shall take effect upon the expiration of the previous permit and shall expire upon the last day of the applicant's leasehold term or at the end of one calendar year from the effective date, whichever occurs first. Proof of a lease agreement, as defined in Section 777.03(b)(4), indicating the forthcoming leasehold term length, shall be required where applicable.
(e) The applicant shall notify the License Section of any change in information contained in the permit application within ten (10) calendar days of the change on a form provided by the License Section.
(f) Any transfer in ownership of a dwelling shall void any short-term rental permit held in that owner's name and in connection with the specific dwelling's property address. Such aforementioned transfers of ownership shall require submission of a new permit application in consideration of and for the issuance of a new short-term rental permit.
(g) If approved as a short-term rental by the License Section, a dwelling shall be assigned an individual permit number that the applicant shall list with the dwelling short-term rental on any hosting platform. Only a valid permit which has been assigned to the dwelling being offered, listed, advertised, or marketed as a short-term rental shall be listed on a hosting platform. Upon a valid permit's expiration, no person or entity shall offer, list, advertise or market a dwelling in violation of Section 777.02(a)(2). Any person or entity found engaging in or to have engaged in conduct in violation of Section 777.02(a)(2) with an expired permit is subject to the penalties as provided for in Section 777.18.
(h) The License Section shall have the authority to deny a new or a renewal permit if any of the information required under this Section is reasonably determined to be insufficient.
(Ord. 2022-75. Passed 9-12-22.)