It is the purpose of this Section to protect and promote the health, safety, and general welfare of all the residents of the City of Seven Hills by requiring the registration and certification of short-term rentals within the City. It is also the intent to protect the integrity of residential neighborhoods while allowing property owners to receive remuneration from short term rental of a dwelling to help maintain the dwelling.
(a) Requirements.
(1) Permit required. A permit is required prior to the rental of any residential dwelling to be rented for a period of thirty (30) days or less; if the permit is issued, the permit shall take effect on the day of issuance and shall expire on December 31st of the year in which it was issued. A permit to operate a short-term rental shall be renewed by the applicant before the end of each calendar year. Failure to renew shall result in expiration on December 31st. If a permit is successfully renewed, it shall be in effect for one calendar year, beginning on January 1st and expiring on December 31st of the same year.
(2) The permit shall indicate the maximum number of guests that can be accommodated at the rental in accordance with the standards listed in this Chapter under Capacity Limit. The permit shall be displayed but removed upon expiration.
(3) A permit and permit holder shall be subject to all of the standards and penalties of the building, zoning and fire codes.
(b) Application, New and Renewal. The Application for a new short-term rental permit, and/or for renewal of a permit, shall be made to the Building Department upon approved forms and submitted with the proper fee of three hundred dollars ($300.00) per dwelling annually.
Prior to receiving a short-term rental permit, the person applying for the permit shall have an internal and external inspection of the dwelling by the Building Department and Fire Department.
(c) Short-Term Rental Standards. All short-term rentals shall comply with the following standards:
(1) Parking. Parking for short term rentals shall only be in identified parking spaces as defined on the application. Any on-street parking identified for the short-term rental in a residential district will not be approved.
(2) Trash. Refuse and recyclables shall be stored in appropriate containers.
(3) Special Events. Special events hosted at the short-term rental property, such as a wedding, outdoor party, family reunion or similar gathering that exceeds the maximum number of short-term renters allowed under the short term rental permit are not permitted at a short term rental property.
(4) Capacity limit.
A. The maximum number of short-term renters to be accommodated shall be equal to the number of bedrooms multiplied by a factor of two (2) plus one additional person. The number of bedrooms shall be as certified by the applicant.
B. The permit issued by the City shall indicate the maximum number of short-term renters that may be accommodated as calculated under these standards.
(5) Contact. If the permit holder is away during a short-term rental, a caretaker representing the property owner must be available by telephone at all times and must be physically located within a local radius of the property in the event of an emergency or an issue that requires immediate attention.
(6) Compliance with all other applicable provisions of the City of Seven Hills Codified Ordinances related to all applicable building, electrical and fire codes.
(7) A short-term rental host must comply with the City of Seven Hills admissions charge and tax as set forth in Chapter 1533 of the City of Seven Hills Codified Ordinances.
(d) Insurance. The owner of the short-term rental is required and must provide proof of insurance. Each short-term rental shall at all times maintain the following insurance coverage:
(1) General liability insurance policy or certificate that provides the minimum coverage;
(2) Not less than three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000). Such policy or certificate must be issued by an insurance company that is admitted to do business in the State of Ohio, an eligible surplus lines company, or risk retention group. Any cancellation of insurance required by this section shall result in an automatic revocation of the respective short-term rental permit.
(e) Violations.
(1) Failure to update information with the City such as the caretaker's or owner's contact information in a timely manner;
(2) Advertising a short-term rental for a capacity in excess of that allowed under the permit issued by the City;
(3) Failure of the permit holder or designated caretaker to be available at any time during the tenure of an active short term rental;
(4) Providing false or misleading information on the application;
(f) Revocation. The City may revoke a short-term rental permit following two (2) separate violations on the same property under the same ownership within any single calendar year. The property owner may reapply for a permit the following calendar year and receive a short-term rental permit if all violations have been resolved.
(g) Grounds for Denial. The Building Commissioner shall deny an application for a new permit, or renewal of a permit, if any of the following are shown to have occurred at the short-term rental property:
(1) The applicant makes a material misrepresentation of fact/s on the application;
(2) Any owner, applicant, operator, or manager of the short-term rental is shown to have been convicted of the act of prostitution or solicit for prostitution, or an act that would constitute a violation of the Ohio R.C. Chapters 2925 (Drug Offenses) or 3719 (Controlled substances), in or on the dwelling of the short-term rental in question, or any short-term rental in which that the owner has any interest in, including, but not limited to, ownership, licensure, or management;
(3) The property taxes of the short-term rental host is in arrears with the Cuyahoga County Auditor's office or the City of Seven Hills' Income Tax.
(4) The occurrence of any of the activities set forth in Chapter 565 Abatement of Criminal Activity Nuisances of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Seven Hills;
(5) Short-term rental has outstanding orders from the City of Seven Hills' Division of Fire and the Building Department that have not been corrected;
(6) Pattern of related activities or evidence as defined and found in, but not limited to, Ohio R.C. Sections 2923.31 (Corrupt Activities), 2923.31 (Prostitution related), 2923.41 (gang related) and 2901.01;
(7) Owner, applicant, operator, manager, or short-term rental host has not made a good faith effort to correct violations, or has obstructed or interfered with correction of the violations, and has hindered or prevented any inspection of the short-term rental authorized by this chapter or other section of the City's Codified Ordinances.
(Ord. 37-2022. Passed 5-24-22.)