Oswego Village Board members recently had another round of discussion on the feasibility of regulating short-term home rentals for temporary guests through companies like Airbnb and Vrbo.
The village currently does not regulate short- or long-term home rental properties. There are about six short-term rental units in Oswego listed on Airbnb and Vrbo, village officials said.
No vote was taken on the issue by trustees after the discussion.
Trustees as a committee of the whole debated the length of a minimum stay at a short-term rental unit, with the consensus leaning toward a minimum of seven nights, versus three or 30 nights.
“I would like to see a longer minimum stay,” Trustee Tom Guist said. “I would not want it in my neighborhood, and I don’t think most neighborhoods are looking to have Airbnbs next door and the possibility of a constant flow of different guests, especially when you have kids.”
Naperville requires a minimum 30-day rental period, according to village officials.
“Naperville has it right,” Guist said.
Trustee Karin McCarthy-Lange advocated for a seven-night minimum. She said her family occasionally will rent an Airbnb, most recently for a weekend in Wisconsin for her child’s college graduation.
“It was the perfect amount of time and was just what we needed for our group of five,” she said.
Trustees also discussed whether to require a $2,000 annual registration fee from short-term rental owners or a license requirement that could be revoked after three violations of village regulations. Both could potentially allow for site inspections.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
