HOWELL – Howell homeowners will no longer be able to rent out their home and its amenities for small periods of time.
At the most recent Township Council meeting, Councilman John Bonevich, Councilwoman Evelyn O’Donnell, Councilwoman Pamela Richmond, Deputy Mayor Thomas Russo and Mayor Theresa Berger voted ‘yes’ to pass the ordinance that bans short-term rental properties.
The ordinance states that no rental facility, rental unit, dwelling or residential structure may be rented or leased for less than 90 days at a time.
Amenities, features or accessories associated with the house are also prohibited from being rented out. This includes swimming pools, pool cabanas, hot tubs, decks, patios and yards. In addition, the ordinance will prohibit the advertisement of these short-term rentals.
The ordinance was introduced at the August 17 meeting after residents in the town dealt with several problematic house parties, the most recent ones coming from Peter Forman Drive.
“I have the petition. It’s over 56 households, over 100 residents. Sometimes technology beats us to the punch. That’s what happened here. Airbnb, college kids throwing frat parties. Now this Swimply went from simple pool parties, families gathering, Sweet 16s, to party promotions,” Bonevich said at the August 17 meeting. “I just want to ensure you that this council, this governing body and professionals are doing everything and we have an ordinance. We hear you. We are introducing an ordinance tonight, not only against hourly and daily rentals of homes, but as well as the amenities. We’re not taking this lightly.”
Airbnb, which rents homes, and Swimply, which rents pools, has caused issues along the Jersey Shore, but also inland areas like Howell and Jackson.
Last summer, police shut down a party with over 400 people. The “pop-up party” caused havoc in the Ramtown section of Howell. Many of the attendees were not even locals, police said.
Both the recent parties and previous ones were advertised online. The property owners rented out their home or backyard for the party and charged a fee.
Many residents who live on or near Peter Forman Drive created a petition wanting to ban these types of rentals and to stop the massive parties.
At the most recent council meeting, Howell resident Charles Teator who lives on Bock Boulevard explained how the house next door to him is rented frequently and renters are constantly littering and causing havoc with parties.
“The owner advised us they lived in Brooklyn and this was going to be their vacation home for the weekends. Not long after, we noticed that there would be different cars in the driveway each day. Some days it would be one car and others it would be four or five cars in the driveway. We would notice numerous people walking around. We noticed litter would be on our front lawn as well as cigarette butts,” Teator said. “The most recent renters had a party for the four days they were there, which were all work days. The three garbage cans were at the curb for several days – full and overflowing. Up against the garage were anywhere from 10 to 15 garbage bags, much more than a normal household would have.”
“My biggest concern with the home next door being used as a rental is a lack of respect for the neighborhood by renters who do not live here, the loud daily parties, overflowing garbage and the lack the of respect for the environment with the littering,” Teator said.
“Just to follow up, the last meeting we talked about Swimply and this ordinance was created for Airbnb… this (ordinance) takes care of their own personal signage as well. This is just daily rentals, no more,” Bonevich said.
