City of Laconia home rentals
 

Looks like they are cracking down on rental homes in Laconia. Letters going out to homeowners that rent by the week or night saying to stop or you will be fined $275/day. In order to keep renting you have to go to the city and apply for a zoning change. They state that renting is in violation of the city’s zoning ordinance and site plan regulations. Watch out everyone doing weekly rentals and Air B and B...


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Velcome comrades... we will stop these people! This is just another disgusting overreach of threat then force by government.

People have to rent out their property in Laconia just to help pay their tax bills. Just another reason I would never buy property there. :rolleye1:

Craigslist has 25 rentals listed in Laconia...
 

Quite a few are for Bike Week. Quite a few are weekly vacation rentals on The Lake. Wonder what Laconia is going to do about people who want to vacation there?

The zoning issue is half the battle for rental home owners.

As soon as you register with the City and acknowledge that you rent your property you will be monitored to be sure that you pay the 9% rooms and meals tax. Approved seasonal operators must file reports for each month of their approved season, even if no tax is due.

What's next? An increase in your assessed value because you are able to rent your property and generate income from it. That will make your property more valuable.

And so it begins...................

The 9% tax letters went out from the state earlier this year. They went on all the rental web sights and then sent letters to all in NH that has a room or house for rent. Even if you had it listed and didn’t rent it you got a lovely certified letter from the state...


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Planning Department has started enforcement actions
 

From The Laconia Daily Sun:

The city Planning Department has started enforcement actions

https://www.laconiadailysun.com/news...bf83024ba.html

Another reason that makes Laconia a laughing stock of the area

NH has a good plan with regard to Interest and Dividends Income Tax. If you only make so much, you don't owe the tax, AND the form says please don't file if you don't owe. We don't wan the extra paperwork. If I rent my camp for only a coupe of weeks, and the income to the state is minimal,. considering cost of administration, why bother?

You are confusing income tax with rooms and meals tax. A 9% tax is assessed upon patrons of hotels (or any facility with sleeping accommodations), and restaurants, on rooms and meals costing $.36 or more. You will owe (unless you rent your camp for less than 36 cents) from the first dollar. The tax is due on the 15th day of the month following the taxable period.

The tax is paid by the consumer and collected by operators of hotels, restaurants, or other businesses providing taxable meals, room rentals, and motor vehicle rentals.

Approved seasonal operators must file reports for each month of their approved season, even if no tax is due.

My place is in Meredith...
 

There are several property owners near me that rent their places out during the summer to pay the property tax.

So if Meredith adopts this and a couple of neighbors complain, my neighbors will be forced to sell and if more towns adopt this, what happens to the summer tourist industry? What happens to the restaurants and other tourist supported businesses? Bayside Rentals (specializing in renting single family homes short term)? If this is carried to an extreme would only hotels and motels be "allowed" to rent to tourists and vacationers? Or is that the design?

In my little mind the problem isn't short term renters, it's noise, which can be generated by long-term renters as well. Maybe even a home owner themselves being a bad neighbor!!! What about that barking dog? Biker with a loud Harley? Enforcement against noise makes more sense to me than taking income away from someone because there is a possibility the short-term renter could be noisy (chances are they'll be gone in a week. A noisy home owner/resident is permanent. Not gone in a week).

Some day I'll write a book..."The Unintended Consequences".

Ehhh, probably not!

its actually a state tax and is enforced by the state and the town (started a hard push on it just about over two years ago when the letters 1st started to come out to those pubilically announcing they are renting online), and Laconia is helping the enforcement and taking it a step further by making the people in residential areas apply for a variance to operate a "Rental business" in a residential area because zoning laws technically do not allow it, and they could deny it. They don't have any other major problems to deal with in the town.

Those in other zones like Commercial or Commercial Resort (example would be the old motels and cottage rental places that are now condos and in this zone) that rent their residential properties out do not need to apply for the variance for Laconia but they still need to file with the state and collect the tax according to the law.

I/m not confusing anything. The point is, there should be a set level where you don't pay any tax and you are not required to file anything. Quoting the law is the opposite approach. The law should be changed, not enforced to the point of being a money loser for small occasional rentals and state administrators.. The comparison to the I & D tax was only to the reduced paperwork (NO FILING) for many citizens.

This issue would have been everyone’s little secret if the owners of the properties in question addressed their neighbors concerns. If I understand the law correctly, each summer home that rents, know of three on my street must apply for a variance to continue to rent. Who will be enforcing this bylaw?


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First: I agree that this response to an isolated problem is overkill. Noise complaints and a police response would have been sufficient.

But, as to the question of who will enforce it? A few years ago I made repeated complaints to the Laconia Planning Department about repeated flagrant violations of the city's zoning laws. I submitted pictures that documented the violations. As a result of the complaints, the former Planning Director had letters sent to the violator with instructions to stop the violations. The violations continued.

I met with the former Planning Director demanding fines and court action. She informed me that they could not take any court action because they had not taken court action in the past with previous unrelated violators. Her contention was that they could be sued by the current violator because they had ignored previous violators. Huh? Does that mean you can never enforce the zoning regulations because you have never enforced the zoning regulations?

Subsequently, the City Manager told her to not have any further discussions with me and stop taking my calls and ignore my emails.

So, I guess that means you can do whatever you want because Laconia refuses to enforce it's zoning regulations

I'll bet the City of Laconia finds...
 

A way to collect the $275/day fine, however.

What an incredible story you've shared here.

People in Laconia who use the internet to rent their properties out should not be heard to complain about having to pay the same tax that motel/resort owners pay.

Fair is fair.

I would say the people renting have no issue (OK maybe some) paying the state and town tax fees like a Hotel/Motel. In fact VRBO does have a line item you can add your tax to and the renter will be billed as a added expense. The major issue I see here is that the town will only "go after" people that have complaints against them. So if I don't like the neighbor down the street because ...and he rents his house out i just make a phone call to the town and wham he is screwed.. I just don't think that is right it should a a law or not a law.

sort-of sounds like the Gustapo::(

The city becomes aware of the illegal renting via the complaint.

That requires fewer hours of investigative time.

It's the low hanging fruit.

With enough media attention and a few first hand "I got fined" testimonials, I would expect greater compliance would follow.

If the ordinance is inappropriate citizens can bring pressure to bear on their elected representatives.

Failing that, one could run for office.

Why should it be ...
 

"Illegal renting"...

The illegal activity should be the noise, not the renting. I love it when the proposed solution for those in opposition to Govt. policy is that the citizens can vote them out...or..."One could run for office" themselves!

Crap! One issue politics.

I can't wait for my fellow voters to become educated, and I don't have the time to hold office myself...Besides I live in California and, I suppose, should not have an opinion on this local subject.

It should be an even playing field. If patrons staying at a motel/hotel short term must pay the 9% occupancy tax then so should patrons of short term rentals of all kinds no matter if it is through a broker, website of advertisement. People renting their vacation homes should not have an upper hand over a business that has invested in their property and community as an on going concern.

I agree...
 

I go through Bayside Rentals for any rental activity and they handle all of this for me. Pay the tax. Keep the noise level low.

If I pay my tax, but the neighbors complain about noise, should I be disallowed from renting?

An ongoing behavioral problem at a rental property, after the police have dealt with the occupants, and got no satisfaction, should become the landlord's problem. The neighbors then file a negligent landlord complaint against the landlord. Problem in San Francisco is that rent control limits what a landlord can do about behavioral problems. And this is a City with some real behavioral problems.

No you should not. If the tenants are violating any local ordinance then they should be the ones that are fined.

So I rent my place for 15 cents per week and charge a $1500 non refundable damage and cleaning deposit I'm good?

Can't get around the powerful tax addicts...
 

They'd make you prove that the cost of your repairs and cleaning were at least $1,500/week. They'd probably hit you up for the tax on the $0.15 also.

Yup...Laconia has lots of addictions!

Well what does one do if one's elected representatives are not upholding or striking down ordinances that one finds of interest?

Is there a lawsuit to be had?

Shall one storm the castle with pitch forks?

Everyone can have an opinion.

Not everyone has standing.

Well...
 

I don't know...

Wondering if Lowes sells pitch forks...

They do
 

They do, and after 30 days you can return it for a refund of your money. And don't forget to stop by Wal-Mart to get one of their $4.97 noodles on sale, which can be cut up and used as protection for the sharp prongs on the pitchfork. Safety first... Yabadabado !:D

Dave

I don't live in Laconia but have seen problems with rentals in other areas. I have a slightly different opinion. The state has to raise money for a variety of programs. When people rent a vacation home, they are no different than a B & B as far as I'm concerned. If people don't pay the room tax, it means that other taxpayers have to pay that much more. Problems with renters has nothing to do with people paying the tax. Vacation homes are nothing different than different than a business when they rent it out.

Absolutely agree. Also more often than not the tenants are not from New Hampshire so residents of the state are really not paying the tax non resident visitors are.


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To separate the issues...

In some areas renting is not legal.

Some people rent their property and don't collect tax.

Some renters misbehave.


The city is trying to resolve these issues.



In other news...

Alaska had an earthquake making some roads impassable with winter a few weeks away. :eek:

There seems to be a little confusion by some.

The city's new rule has nothing to do with the state meals and rental tax. This is strictly a state issue. You are expected to display your license # in all ads and collect the 9% and pay it to the state. The city does not enforce or get involved in this. The state does actively look at rental website and check and see if people do have a license.

The cities New rule is about zoning, and if short term rentals are a permitted use in the zone. Also the article does Not state a very important point. Short term rentals are allowed in the CR and SFR zones. So really this new rule is just to prevent short term rentals in the downtown area. It does not apply to most of the shore front and Weirs, since they are CR and SFR. So most vacation rentals are not effected.

If I were the city I would ask that the article point this out. I see this creating a lot of phone calls come spring from feuding neighborhoods who think they can report their neighbors.

And yet your tax rate keeps going DOWN

https://www.laconiadailysun.com/news...211ac6db9.html

Just read an article about Manchester, 72% of property tax payers did NOT have a child in the school system! That's frightening and I wonder what those percentages are in other cities and towns?

The Manchester number of taxpayers (72%) who did not have a child in the school system is an interesting fact.

I don't know if anyone has ever taken the time to figure it out but it would be interesting to know the percentage of tax revenue in the lake front towns that comes from non voting (non-resident) taxpayers. The Manchester statistic is the number of taxpayers, the dollar numbers would tell a different story.

The so called rich towns which include the towns around the lake better watch the legislature. They are again talking about making us pay even more in taxes to help out the "poorer" towns. If they come up with anything like they did last winter our taxes will increase a lot!

Maybe the 9% room tax on short term rentals would help. At least it mostly comes from tourists and not residents and seasonal residents.


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I don't live in Laconia, but what about the people that have to live next to these rentals? It's a terrible feeling living next to strangers every weekend. People are more concerned with paying taxes than they are for their neighbors safety and piece of mind. Would you want to live next to one of these rentals or is it a "not in my backyard" mentality. It's time for regulations on short-term rentals regardless of the zoning.

I am in Laconia and have been in two different neighborhoods with rentals next door. I have never really had a major issue, asked one to tone it down a little once. Remember these are homes mostly near or on the lake and many owners are non residents like myself. Besides many of the gated communities around the lake already allow and have short term rentals