BAINBRIDGE ISLAND — The city of Bainbridge Island is tracking down property owners who offer their homes as vacation rentals without a city or state business license.
The Kitsap Sun says the city is combing the Internet to compile a list of short-term vacation rentals operating without business licenses. The city plans to send letters asking the homeowners to get a license, which would require them to pay lodging taxes.
City Attorney Lisa Marshall says officials are looking into how much revenue it losses through unlicensed rentals. The city took in nearly $147,000 in lodging taxes last year.
Renters staying more than 30 days are subject to the state’s landlord-tenant law.
Bainbridge Island is west of Seattle, across Puget Sound.
