Rancho Mirage, Palm Springs issue temporary ban on vacation rentals
Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage placed a temporary ban on rentals effective immediately.
According to a statement by Palm Springs officials, the city's order applies to all temporary lodging including hotels and vacation rentals like Airbnb, unless those rentals are being used for "migration and containment measures related to the spread" of coronavirus.
City officials urged visitors to cancel all bookings through April 30, although the order will remain in effect until an unspecified future date.
Violators can be fined $5,000 for their first offense, $10,000 for their second and $25,000 for their third, the order reads.
"Visitors currently staying in a vacation rental, homeshare, or hotel should return to their home community immediately and shelter in place,'' Ready said.
On Monday, Rancho Mirage city officials issued an order that barred short-term vacation rentals as well. The order is effective from March 23, 2020 through June 1, 2020, unless amended earlier.
The city also placed a hold on processing any new applications until the temporary moratorium is lifted.
Rancho Mirage will issue citations and fines to any property found to be in violation of the moratorium. Fines begin at $5,000, however, additional citations can result based on further violations, including a full revocation of Short-Term Rental certificate.
Rancho Mirage residents and neighbors can report suspected Short-Term Rental activity by calling the Rancho Mirage Short-Term Rental hotline at 760-833-7999.
Palm Springs residents can call the city's hotline at 760-322-8383 to report suspected Short-Term Rental activity.
The hotlines are to report complaints only. Staff is not able to answer questions.
"This temporary moratorium on the City's Short-Term Rentals is another precautionary step to discourage potential visitors during this pandemic," reads a statement by Rancho Mirage officials.
As of noon Tuesday, there were 59 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Riverside County, with 28 in the Coachella Valley. Six people have died from complications associated with the disease, all in the Coachella Valley.
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