What's New
As of late Friday, May 21st, VHR Permit Applications did reach the 900 cap in the Lake Tahoe Basin. We currently have 35 waitlist applications on the waitlist.
The waitlist application is up on this website. You can submit that to VHRpermitrenewal@edcgov.us
***The VHR 900 Permit Cap only pertains to the Tahoe Basin, not the West Slope***
Thank you for your patience! Staff is working around the clock to make sure each application is handled in the order it was recieved.
VHR Clustering and Buffering in El Dorado County update
On Tuesday, May 11th, 2021, the Board of Supervisors directed staff to revise the VHR Ordinance to add a 500 foot buffer around all active VHR permits. Staff will revise the ordinance and bring it back to the Board no later than 90 days from the May 11th meeting. This will be the first reading of the changes to the Ordinance. The changes will need to be read a second time at a future meeting. If adopted, the changes will go into effect 30 days after the second reading. If you currently have a VHR permit and are in good standing, this will likely not affect your property. Staff will not know the future impact until after the revision of the ordinance goes into place later this year. If you have questions please feel free to email staff at vhrpermitrenewal@edcgov.us
Materials from this meeting are posted to the Board of Supervisors website.
Link Here: https://eldorado.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=850803&GUID=BC450F10-47AA-4D47-9AA0-D7E3267B6311&Options=&Search=
VHR Ordinance Update
On December 2, 2020 the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors voted to approve amendments to the Vacation Home Rental Ordinance. One of the changes was to limit the number of permits in the Tahoe Basin portion of the County to 900 permits which was reached on Monday, May 24th.
Another change in the Ordinance applied to properties that have been renting WITHOUT a valid / issued VHR Permit. If you are cited by Code Enforcement after January 1, 2021, you will not be able to apply for a VHR Permit for One (1) year from the date of the violation. This includes VHR Permits that were not submitted for renewal prior to the expiration date of the permit.
Reference: VHR Ordinance Adopted 12/2/2020
Section 5.56.0170
Operation of a vacation home rental home without a permit—Penalty. The owner of any vacation home rental that is determined to be operating without the necessary permit required under this section shall be subject to the penalties listed above in Section 5.56.140. Each day of operation without a permit shall constitute a separate violation. and is subject to an additional penalty. In addition, any vacation home rental found to be operating without a permit will not be permitted to obtain a permit until all past due transient occupancy taxes, penalties and interest are paid in full and will be precluded from applying for a vacation home rental permit or from being added to the waiting list for a one (1) year period.
Please also note that Staff is approximately 4 weeks behind in reviewing New Applications and Renewal Applications due to the extreme volume of permits being submitted and customer service inquiries. Thank you for your patience.
Once the application is deemed complete by staff applicants will be notified on how to schedule the required fire inspction. Applicants have 60 days to complete the fire inspection or their application will be denied.
A copy of the updated Ordinance is posted below as well as the guidance for Hotels, Lodging and Short Term Rentals.
VHR Ordinance adopted 12.2.2020.pdf
El Dorado County has moved to the ORANGE Tier - How Does that Impact Travel for VHRs?
The State of California has advised that Short Term Rentals, otherwise known as Vacation Home Rentals or VHRs, reserva-tions are permitted from in-state travelers. Non-essential out-of-state travelers can reserve if it is for at least the minimum quarantine period (10 days) and they can quarantine at the property during theminimus of the first 10 days. Californians are advised not to travel further than 120 miles from home.
Useful Links for California Guidance:
Stay at home except for essential travel
California State Industry-Guidance Hotels
Travel Guidance for Californians
On May 13, 2020, District 5 Supervisor Sue Novasel held a Virtual Town Hall to provide information on options for limiting the number and density of Vacation Home Rentals in the Tahoe Basin, focusing on the guidelines from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA).
A second Tahoe VHR Virtual Town Hall was held June 10, 2020 via ZOOM.
The State issued guidelines for short-term rentals for individual, which can be found here: guidance-hotels-lodging-rentals--en.pdf VHR operators may rent as long as they have a safety plan in place which mirrors the State guidelines. Operators need no further approval from the County.
However, the statewide ban on nonessential travel remains in place. Therefore, the hope is that people will recreate and rent in their local areas and not travel across the summit into the Tahoe basin if they do not live there.
We hope people will continue to heed all the public health advice wherever they go, traveling only with household members, wearing face coverings when in public, properly washing their hands, and maintaining at least a six-foot distance from others.