What's New
VHR Renewals that have not paid TOT
Applicants must demonstrate at the time of VHR permit renewal that the property was rented in the prior year and that transient occupancy taxes (TOT) have been paid. If that cannot be proved at the time of renewal, the application will be denied and the current VHR permit will expire. Please contact the Treasurer Tax Collectors office if you have any questions about TOT payments (hdlgov.com) VHR Ordinance Sec. 5.56.055 B.
VHR Complaints
If you find that a property is violating the VHR ordinance, we encourage you to call the Local Contact that is listed on the external sign posted on the property or found on our VHR Map. If the problem persists, please call Host Compliance at 530-206-7649 or report the problem on their website here. Host Compliance is a resource that El Dorado County utilizes to monitor compliance within the VHR program. Please also check out additional information and resources on the VHR Code Enforcement Website.
VHR Permits Do Not Transfer
If you are looking to purchase a property in El Dorado County, please be sure to check the buffering map first. If it is in a 500 foot buffer zone of a permitted property, it is not eligible for a VHR permit. If it is in the Tahoe area, it is subject to the 900 permit cap and there are not any permits available at this time. You can be added to that waitlist once you purchase a property but it is uncertain that you will ever be able to obtain a permit. Properties that have an active permit when a house changes ownership do not transfer. When the house sells, the permit becomes null and void.
VHR Clustering and Buffering in El Dorado County update
On Tuesday, August 24th, 2021, the Board of Supervisors adopted a new VHR Ordinance adding a 500 foot buffer around all active VHR permits. This ordinance change is County Wide - not just within the Tahoe Basin.
VHR changes adding the 500 foot buffer went into effect October 1st, 2021. If you currently have a VHR permit and are in good standing, this will not affect your property. Please use the VHR map on this page to research properties within the County.
If you have questions please feel free to email staff at vhrpermits@edcgov.us
Materials from this meeting are posted to the Board of Supervisors website.
Link Here: https://eldorado.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=878365&GUID=72390811-1C4D-4432-ACB5-B41875747DD2&Options=info|&Search=
VHR Ordinance adopted 8_24_21 Clustering addition.pdf
As of spring 2021, VHR Permit Applications reached the 900 cap in the Lake Tahoe Basin. As of May 31st, there are currently 168 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 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.
***** If you need to apply for a business license and have not recieved your VHR permit yet, please be patient as we are working very hard to get permits issued for you. Since the process has changed this year, you must have a currrent VHR pemrit through the Planning department to apply for a business license.*****
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.
Executed Ordinance 5135 adopted 12.2.2020.pdf
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.