Action at Tuesday’s Bryan city council meeting included agreement to create an ordinance regulating short term rental (STR) housing.
The council was told by Lindsey Guindi of the city’s economic development office that there is an estimated 300 STR properties in Bryan, and the city is not collecting between $250,000 and $400,000 dollars annually in hotel occupancy tax (HOT) money.
The council supported Guindi’s recommendation to hire a third party that will register and collect HOT tax money from STR owners.
Councilman Reuben Marin says this will level the playing field with local hotels.
Councilman Bobby Gutierrez brought up ideas for using the additional revenue.
Councilman Brent Hairston asked about excluding property owners who would rent their homes once or twice a year. Guindi said that would be difficult for a third party to monitor.
According to presentation materials, the city of Bryan defines STR’s as “a rental of any residential home unit or accessory building for a short period of time. This generally includes stays of less than a month (30 days). Types of short term rentals can include entire homes, accessory dwellings and individual rooms.”
Last October, the city of College Station began regulating the owners of short term rental properties. The Bryan council did not bring up College Station regulations that includes inspections, requiring life saving equipment including smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and providing renters brochures containing pertinent neighborhood information and how to contact the property owner or operator.
While the Bryan council is interested in a third party collecting HOT money for the city, College Station uses city employees to monitor 123 registered STR’s and around 25 that are going through the application process.
Click below for comments from the March 8, 2022 Bryan city council workshop meeting: