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New SPI Database for Rental Properties

6 years 7 months 1 week ago Thursday, August 17 2017 Aug 17, 2017 August 17, 2017 6:10 PM August 17, 2017 in News

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND – South Padre Island has created a new database of registered short-term rental properties. It was set up to ensure properties are in compliance with city ordinances. This involves places anyone might book, even on Craigslist or Air BnB.

Two of the ordinances were passed last month.

The first requires property owners, who are renting to someone else, have a local person available to contact 24 hours a day. If the situation warrants, police would be able to enter the property.

If the person fails to show up quickly, the property owner can be fined up to $500 an hour.

Some people in the local property management business see it as a win. They said they've had to compete for too long with people running properties remotely.

"Somebody can pretty much do this out of their house and so they have no cost of doing this and it's not a level playing field," said Arnie Creinin, president of Coastal Lifestyles Property and Rental Management.

South Padre Island Police Chief Randy Smith said the department will work with property owners.

“If they called us and say we can’t get there until an hour and a half or two hours, well they made some initial contact with us. We know when they’re coming. We might go answer other calls and then we’ll come back, meet them and address that so we’re going to work with the property owners to fine tune this situation,” said Smith.

The police chief added since the ordinance went into effect at the beginning of the month, property owners have been in compliance.

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