Board recommends new education programs, property management rules for vacation rentals

The Palm Springs Administrative Appeals Board voted unanimously Monday to recommend comprehensive updates to the city’s vacation rental ordinance that would establish new educational programs, registration requirements for property management companies, and incentives for compliant property owners.

The proposed changes, which now go to the Palm Springs City Council for consideration, emerged from a subcommittee review of recent cases involving out-of-town property owners who had assigned responsibility for licensing and management of their vacation rentals to property management companies.

Under the recommendations, escrow and title companies would be required to provide new property buyers with a document titled “What to Do If You Are Planning on Renting Your Property.” The document would explain the difference between long-term rentals of 28 nights or more, which require no city certificate, and short-term rentals of less than 28 nights, which require a vacation rental registration certificate.

The proposals also call for property management companies that handle vacation rentals in Palm Springs to register with the city and agree to follow the city’s vacation rental ordinance. The new definition would exclude internet platforms such as Airbnb and VRBO that only handle advertising and booking.

“We’re addressing the education part with real estate community by letting them know that it’s really important that the customer is educated on that aspect even prior to purchasing,” Board Chair Patrick Basile said during the meeting.

Property management companies would face new requirements to obtain copies of valid vacation rental certificates before advertising properties. Companies that advertise unlicensed units would face fines of $2,500 for the first violation, $5,000 for the second, and $10,000 for subsequent violations.

The recommendations include establishing an annual outreach program at local Multiple Listing Service meetings to educate real estate agents about vacation rental requirements and how to better serve investors considering rental properties. Quarterly public awareness campaigns about vacation rental legal requirements through newspaper advertisements, television spots, and seminars at the Palm Springs Public Library or City Hall will also be suggested.

An earlier proposal that was not included in the final recommendations would have lifted the cap on contracts starting in 2026 for vacation rental owners with no citations in 2025. Under that plan, compliant owners would have kept the current limit of 36 contracts per year, while others would still be limited to 26.

Board Member Lauren Hein noted that many property owners appear before the appeals board because they were unaware of the city’s requirements. “Nobody likes the surprise,” she said.

The recommendations address statistics showing that over a two-year period, only 0.5% of appeal cases heard by the board were overturned. Board members said this prompted questions about how well the community understands the ordinances and their administration.

The City Council will review the recommendations at an undetermined date and may adopt them as presented, modify them, or reject them entirely. The council has the discretion to make additional changes to the proposed language before any final adoption.

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Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story reported that the Administrative Appeals Board would recommend owners who had no citations in 2025 not be subject to an impending cap on contracts scheduled to start in 2026. That proposal was ultimately not included in recommendations being passed on to the City Council by the AAB and we have updated the story to reflect that.

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