City of Laconia home rentals

[joey2665]

Originally Posted by Major

We received Long Bay's official position on short term rentals --

"Since the City Zoning Laws ban short term rentals in Long Bay, our Board has concluded that there are no additional considerations for Rules & Regulations needed at this time to address this subject. Simply stated, short term rentals are against the law in Long Bay, and anyone that continues to rent their home for less than 185 days are subject to City Laws that involve stiff fines."

I am pleased that our Board decided to follow the law. This is good news for our community.

I disagree with the law and LB. As I have stated my neighbor in LB rented weekly for years and never had an issue and I think short term rentals are good for the community and the economy. Big note as long as they follow the the rules at LBHOA and any other city ordinances.


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[Major]

Originally Posted by joey2665

I disagree with the law and LB. As I have stated my neighbor in LB rented weekly for years and never had an issue and I think short term rentals are good for the community and the economy. Big note as long as they follow the the rules at LBHOA and any other city ordinances.


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As the great Sy Robertson said, "we can disagree to disagree!" I'm not sure how often you used the beach, but you can definitely identify the renters from the owners. Most times it's not an issue, but sometimes it is. I'd rather not deal with it at all.

[joey2665]

Originally Posted by Major

As the great Sy Robertson said, "we can disagree to disagree!" I'm not sure how often you used the beach, but you can definitely identify the renters from the owners. Most times it's not an issue, but sometimes it is. I'd rather not deal with it at all.

I used both the beach and the pool every visit in season and yes you can tell the renters and relatives staying for "free" but I never experienced any issues and I was in Long Bay for 10 years.

I understand and respect your position.

[jetskier]

The issue is that city ordinance over arches any association rules. As such, the city ordinances take priority. Both SD and LB are essentially deferring to the city for any enforcement (of city ordinance). LB is restating the city ordinance and it is probably a stronger position than in the past. However, the city has indicated that enforcement is based upon complaints only.

The issue for associations such as SD and LB is that when a property is rented, the owner is not around to deal with issues. All problems become the responsibility of the board and property manager. Essentially, the community bears the cost of the rental and the individual reaps the benefit.

Some renters are terrific, but others feel that they can do whatever they want as they have paid for their vacation. It is a difficult situation as some homeowners do rely on rental income.


Jetskier

[TiltonBB]

From the Laconia Sun:

https://www.laconiadailysun.com/news...5975c80d6.html

[joey2665]

Originally Posted by jetskier

The issue is that city ordinance over arches any association rules. As such, the city ordinances take priority. Both SD and LB are essentially deferring to the city for any enforcement (of city ordinance). LB is restating the city ordinance and it is probably a stronger position than in the past. However, the city has indicated that enforcement is based upon complaints only.



The issue for associations such as SD and LB is that when a property is rented, the owner is not around to deal with issues. All problems become the responsibility of the board and property manager. Essentially, the community bears the cost of the rental and the individual reaps the benefit.



Some renters are terrific, but others feel that they can do whatever they want as they have paid for their vacation. It is a difficult situation as some homeowners do rely on rental income.





Jetskier

I absolutely agree that all city ordnance’s and law supersede rules and regulations-of any HOA and that is the way it should be. I do not agree that the HOA bares any of the cost of renters and the problems do ultimately fall on the owner not the HOA. There are plenty of rules in place in LB and the sub HOAs in LB so if a tenant had a situation where there was any cost and been paid by the HOA the owner would have to reimburse the said costs. But as I have said in 10 years as a board members of an LB sub HOA we had renters and never had this situation.




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[Woodsy]

Ultimately.... the signal from Laconia (and probably most other towns) is pretty clear. You can fly under the radar and we don't care. If you pop up on our radar due to a complaint, the party is over.

What I would like to see is what the ZBA does in an area like the Weirs, as it is zoned CR not residential.


Woodsy

[jetskier]

Hi Joey2665,

Some years back I was in the Gables and renters completely trashed the pool area (broken glass on the deck, smashed the chairs etc...). The home owner did not deal with the issue. Just an example.

There are great renters and poor renters. Some homeowners are great about vetting their renters and others are not. The other problem is many renters just don't know the rules or (in some cases, care). We have had renters show up to the beach with floatation devices that you can land an air craft carrier on...small beach, not cool.

When there are issues or complaints, it ends up in a call to security, the management company or the board. I know that there are a lot of homeowners in LB very much against rentals because of issues and this has been a discussion at the board level. The other complexity is that it is extremely hard to know who should be in the community and who should not. This makes it difficult for security etc...

As I previously said, at some level the motivation of people renting and those owning in communities like LB and SD become at odds. There are only so many nice summer days to enjoy.

So, the way it stands now if someone is going to rent it is their responsibility to make sure that their renters don't cause an issue that is going to cause someone to complain to the city. The city is the only enforcement entity in this regard. So, this becomes a self correcting situation.

Just my 2 cents.
Bruce




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[Major]

Instead of short term rentals, maybe the owners should open boarding houses. Interesting articles in the Daily Sun.

https://www.laconiadailysun.com/news...b33670d60.html

https://www.laconiadailysun.com/news...c0cb8e394.html

In all seriousness, as taxpayers, why are we investing in downtown Laconia when these types of "investments" are being encouraged by our City leaders and our media? The City is desperate for growth, and has encouraged Section 8 housing, drug rehab centers, and now boarding houses. This is okay, but why are we even considering investing in downtown, like the Colonial Theater or the WOW Trail?