Akron, Ohio STR registration and excise tax effective in 2023

[Jack Smith]

Akron, Ohio passes a Short Term Rental Registration: $250 annual fee and 5.5% tax, starting in January 2023. The ABJ article announcing it here.   

Ohio House bill prompts Akron to draft its own ordinance 

City Council decided the legislation was necessary after the Ohio House of Representative introduced a bill in February to prevent municipalities from prohibiting short-term rentals and regulating the number, duration, or frequency of rental periods. The bill has yet to go before the full House for a vote. City officials, however, do not believe any language in that legislation, House Bill 563, would put their ordinance at risk of conflicting with state legislation. 

"We were careful to craft our ordinance to remain in line with currently proposed state law, but if there's a conflict in a state law or a preemptive law, we'll certainly revisit our law," said Emily Collins, strategic advisor to Mayor Dan Horrigan and co-author of the Akron ordinance. 

They are referring to the bill OREIA has been supporting to prevent any future limitations on STRs in the state.  

Here's the complete ordinance:

https://onlinedocs.akronohio.g... & on the left side under 'Select Search Type' pull down menu select 'Passed Legislation' and under 'Ordinance Number' search for *291-2022* 

[Michael Baum]

It is always better to have a municipality introduce some small regs like registration and the like and not just ban them outright.