Charleston, S.C. (WCIV) — With the city of Charleston being a large tourist attraction, many locals rent out their homes to people on sites like AirBnb and Homeaway.
Some homeowners feel they should be able to rent out their homes to visitors if they feel like it, while others disagree.
On Monday, the city council held a workshop at city hall to further discuss the ongoing debate.
In November 2016, city council established a short term rental task force to study the issue of short term rentals in the city and to make recommendations.
Dan Riccio, with the Department of Livability and Tourism, proposed rules and guidelines that could help both sides of the discussion.
Ricco feels the rules are needed because, "it affects everyone's quality of life in the neighborhoods."
Homeowners wishing to offer property as a short-term rental would be required to obtain a permit, under newly proposed rules.
Plans also include computer software that can track down violators and fines up to $1,087 if neighborhood ordinances are broken.
Neighbors who are against short term rentals in their community are concerned about parking issues that could arise, noise complaints and the visitors littering or not properly taking out the trash during their stay.
Ricco says, "What we're trying to do is regulate it so that we can have an equal balance within the community and some that want to rent their properties on a short term basis."
The Department of Livability and Tourism also plans to hire three new police officers that will solely work on making sure rules are complied with and that any violations will result in fines to the homeowner.