Marin Co. Short-Term Rentals Hard To Find Now That Tiburon, Other Cities Ban Airbnb, VRBO

TIBURON (KPIX 5) -- As more and more homeowners sign up rent out their homes to vacationers for short stays, more Bay Area cities are just saying 'no.'

Several cities in Southern California have already banned short-term rentals on popular websites like Airbnb and VRBO.com. Now cities in Marin County are following suit.

Mill Valley introduced restrictions last August and Sausalito has banned them. If you're planning to rent a place in scenic Tiburon, you'll have far fewer options starting this fall.

In a 3-to-2 vote, the Town Council voted to amend an ordinance that bans people from renting out their property for less than 31 days. The ban is expected to take effect in October.

That's good news for residents like Cliff and Nancy McGoon. They weren't happy with the growing number of vacation rentals popping up in Tiburon.

"I just think that this type of neighborhood, this community, it's kind of private," said Nancy.

In Tiburon, five homeowners were registered to rent their property short-term. Three more homeowners applied for permits, but neighbors objected citing issues like traffic and overcrowding.

"You have a lot of traffic in and out, and often it adds to the traffic problem we have in Tiburon and Belvedere," said Cliff.

But Matt Crowe disagrees.

"It's short sighted from people who don't understand how the Airbnb rental community works," he said.

Crowe rents his two-bedroom houseboat in Sausalito when he's out of town.

With Sausalito and Tiburon passing rental restrictions, he thinks the county is closing its doors on a great opportunity.

"There's people that come here from all over the world to see Marin County because it's beautiful."

The Tiburon Town Council will meet again in September to decide how to enforce the ordinance.