Short-term rentals in New Brighton, explained properly.

Sec. 18-459 lists: the city application form; proof of ownership or control (or the fee owner's signature); the fee set in the fee schedule; contact information for the owner and any authorized agent; the address, number of bedrooms, total livable square feet and number of off-street parking spaces; a site plan showing the off-street parking spaces; and confirmation that the applicant has read the article and will post an easily accessible list of emergency contacts and an easily accessible copy of rental rules and regulations. The City may ask for other information reasonably needed to evaluate the application. An incomplete application is returned with a deadline to fix it; missing the deadline means denial and forfeiture of the application fee, and the applicant may appeal the incompleteness decision to the City Council, which hears it at its next regular meeting (Sec. 18-460).

Sec. 18-514 sets these two issue windows. Sec. 18-516 encourages permit holders to apply for renewal after November 1 for the following calendar year, so that existing holders avoid a lapse in eligibility.

Sec. 18-515 says a sale or transfer of ownership rights to a non-permit holder invalidates an issued permit and the new owner must apply for and receive a new permit to re-establish short-term rental rights. A prospective buyer may apply for a permit jointly with the present owner before acquiring the property.

Sec. 18-461 gives the City this authority at the time of approval; the Code text read does not list the conditions. On a permit review after a second violation, the Council may also set a maximum occupancy (Sec. 18-495(3)).

Sec. 18-491 requires a resident agent who lives and works within 30 miles of the dwelling unit. The agent may be, but need not be, the owner, and one person may serve several dwelling units. The agent keeps a primary and a secondary phone number and a current address on file with the City, and the agent or a representative must be available 24 hours a day at those numbers whenever the unit is being rented, to respond immediately to complaints or issues. The City must be notified in writing before the agent changes. The agent is responsible for the tenants' activities and for maintenance and upkeep, and is authorized to receive notices of violation, orders and service of process.

Sec. 18-492 puts the list on the resident agent, who must make it available to city staff and/or law enforcement upon request.

Sec. 18-493 lists the three in-unit postings. Separately, the applicant confirms on the application (Sec. 18-459(7)) that an easily accessible list of emergency contacts and an easily accessible copy of rental rules and regulations will be posted at the rental.

Sec. 18-495 covers violations of Secs. 18-491 through 18-494. First offense: city staff order the owner to correct the violation, and the owner may appeal to the City Council, which hears it at its next regular meeting. Second offense within 365 days of the first: the permit is immediately suspended and goes to the Council. The Council may reinstate, amend (including by setting a maximum occupancy) or revoke the permit after a public hearing, with written notice to the permit holder and to all property owners within 350 feet, mailed at least ten days before the hearing; a revocation is by resolution with findings of fact. After revocation, neither the person nor the property can be issued another short-term rental permit for one year from the revocation date.

Sec. 18-495(5) says the City may use any remedies at law or in equity, that unpaid costs, charges and penalties may be certified to the property for collection with the property taxes, and that a short-term rental in violation of the article may constitute a public nuisance under Chapter 14, Article IV. The fine amount is not shown in the article text read.

The Department of Revenue guide says residential short-term rentals (a home, a portion of a home, or any other property used as a temporary place to stay or live) are a form of lodging and related services, and that charges for them are subject to the general rate sales tax and any applicable local and lodging taxes. Revenue Notice 17-06 (published in the State Register on September 25, 2017) says state and local taxes are due on lodging if the lease or rental is for less than 30 days, or for 30 days or more if there is no enforceable written lease agreement that requires the customer to give prior notice of their intention to terminate the lease. The lodging guide's table for tips and service charges lists the state general rate sales tax as 6.875%. Sales of lodging that are isolated and occasional and not made in the normal course of business are exempt from sales tax under Minnesota Statutes section 297A.67, subdivision 23, as the notice states, and the guide adds that the income tax rule for renting out a home for 14 days or less does not carry over to sales tax. The guide says some cities administer their own lodging taxes and the state rate calculator leaves out special local taxes, so city taxes are shown on each place's page and this page does not total state and local taxes. The guide was last updated May 15, 2024.

Revenue Notice 17-06 says that if the residential property is in Minnesota, the owner must register as a retailer to collect, report and remit sales tax and applicable local taxes when both of these apply: the owner regularly furnishes lodging directly to a customer in the normal course of business (for the purpose of profit or producing income), and the customer makes the reservation with and pays the owner. The owner is not required to register or collect when the owner uses an accommodations intermediary to facilitate all sales of lodging at the property, or when the owner's rental is an isolated incident not made in the normal course of business. When an owner who regularly rents directly also uses an intermediary, both have liabilities: the owner collects on sales made without an intermediary, and the intermediary collects on the sales it facilitated. The guide says the owner must keep documentation of who facilitated each sale and was responsible for remitting the tax. It describes an isolated sale as one that happens once and an occasional sale as infrequent and not recurring with some degree of regularity.

Revenue Notice 17-06 says an accommodations intermediary that facilitates the sale of the short-term rental of residential property located in Minnesota must register as a retailer to collect, report and remit the taxes on the full sales price of lodging and related services, whether the intermediary or the renter is in Minnesota or not. Facilitating the sale includes collecting receipts from the customer and transmitting them to the owner, directly or through third parties, whether or not the intermediary deducts fees from those receipts. It does not include mere advertising that directs the customer to contact the owner to reserve and purchase. The full sales price includes all amounts the intermediary charges the customer. Statute section 297A.61, subdivision 47 defines the term accommodations intermediary, as the notice cites. The notice is dated September 2017 and the guide May 15, 2024.