DEL MAR — Del Mar property owners who rent out their homes seasonally for 30 days or less will not be required to charge visitors an additional 11.5 percent.
Proposition J, which would have extended the transient occupancy tax to private houses and duplexes, was defeated in the June 8 election, with 58 percent of voters opposing the measure.
The TOT applies to hotel stays of 30 days or less. For years residents have rented out all or part of their homes, mostly for extra income, during peak tourist times such as summer or the race season. They were not required to collect the TOT.
Operating such short-term rentals in a residence was not an allowed use in any of the city’s zoning districts until recently, when City Council amended the municipal code in anticipation of Proposition J passing.
City officials estimated broadening the TOT to include short-term vacation rentals could have added more than $180,000 annually to the general fund to help pay for city services, including those used by visitors.
Proposition J opponents said extending the TOT to short-term vacation rentals essentially meant residents were being taxed twice since they already pay for those services as property owners.
Del Mar is currently the only North County coastal city that does not have an ordinance regulating and collecting TOT for short-term rentals.
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