Vacation rentals have taken the real estate industry by storm, and for good reason because they have proven to be a cash cow if done correctly. However, like most things in life, there is a downside to this recent trend, and unfortunately that repercussion hit Humboldt pretty hard. We've been experiencing a shortage in housing inventory for a few decades now and this issue intensified when the vacation rental fad made its way to the Northcoast. When you have a lack of housing, and then take away some of it to serve as vacation rentals for tourists, it results in a very competitive rental and buying market, which is a terrible confluence of events when all of this happens in the fifth poorest county in California. As some of you likely know, Arcata, Trinidad, Ferndale and Shelter Cove already have some form of a local ordinance that addresses vacation rentals, and limits the amount of permitted units in that given area. All of the remaining areas in our county find themselves in a bit of a grey area because of the lack of written policies addressing the situation. It does sound like county officials are currently working on an ordinance that would cover the entire county, but I don't think that would go into affect for another year or so. Our office just learned that in the meantime, the county considers all currently active vacation rentals to be illegal, and that means that while the property owner may still be paying business taxes, the county has the right to issue a cease and desist notice at any time if a complaint is brought forward. If the property owners fails to comply, the county will then abate the property. | 
