Title
Introduction of Ordinance Amending the Alameda Municipal Code by Amending Article 3.61 (Transient Occupancy Tax) of Chapter 3 (Finance and Taxation) to Implement Senate Bill 346 Authorizing Cities to Require Short Term Rental Platforms to Provide Additional Information to Cities.
This action does not constitute a "project" as defined in California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378. (Finance 10024051)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Adam W. Politzer, Interim City Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Senate Bill 346 authorizes local agencies to require short-term rental platforms, such as Airbnb and VRBO, to provide property-level information necessary to effectively enforce local Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) requirements. Currently, the City of Alameda (City) receives only limited, aggregated data from these platforms, making it difficult to identify which properties are actively operating as short-term rentals and whether the property owners are complying with City business license and TOT requirements.
Opting into SB 346 would allow the City to require short-term rental platforms to report identifying information such as property addresses and Assessor Parcel Numbers (APNs), enabling the City to better track short-term rental inventory, improve compliance, and equitably enforce TOT across all operators. Adoption of SB 346 does not create a new tax or impose new regulatory requirements on residents but instead strengthens the City's ability to administer existing laws fairly and efficiently.
BACKGROUND
The City imposes a Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) of fourteen percent (14%) on the short-term rental of residential properties for stays of 30 days or less. This tax ensures that visitors contribute to essential City services, including public safety, infrastructure, and parks.
Over the past decade, short-term rental activity has increasingly shifted to online platforms such as Airbnb, VRBO, and similar s...
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