Walla Walla bans new short-term rentals

WALLA WALLA, Wash. (AP) – The Walla Walla City Council adopted an ordinance that bans new absentee-owner properties for use as short-term rentals.
 
The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin reports the ordinance, which passed Wednesday, puts a halt to the proliferation in the city of new short-term rentals whose owners inhabit them for fewer than 275 days per calendar year and rent them out for up to 29 days at a time.
 
Owners who register their rentals as businesses before Nov. 9 and show they have paid applicable taxes while operating their rental, however, may continue operating their property as a short-term rental until it is sold.
 
Short-term rental owners and operators were among those most fervently opposed to the ban, though many said they would favor regulations.
 
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Information from: Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, http://www.union-bulletin.com