Redding’s Council Will Reconsider Short-Term Rentals Tonight. Here’s Some Relevant Data.

Redding’s Deputy City Manager, Steve Bade, oversees the staff who will present proposed short-term rental zoning changes to City Council members again this Tuesday, June 6.

On the City’s podcast recently, Bade said he doesn’t think Redding has an affordable housing crisis although he wasn’t quite sure how to define the term.

What Bade made absolutely clear is that Redding’s rental market is extremely tight. Between 98-99% of all rentals in Redding are currently occupied, he said, making finding a place to live unusually difficult.

What does that mean for City decisions on short-term rentals? As the Council prepares to reexamine whether to cap short-term rentals, and how densely to space them, we take a look at some of the data that could inform those decisions.

What does “affordable housing” mean?

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) uses the term to describe housing that costs less than 30% of the occupants’ gross household income.  In California, affordable housing is housing that is restricted to individuals or households that qualify as low-income in one of three categories including low income, very low income and extremely low income.

While housing can become unaffordable for anyone, those with lower income levels are more affected by housing affordability issues.

A recent report on California’s housing needs showed that 69% of extremely low-income households in Shasta County are paying more than half their income on rent. That compares with only 1% of moderate-income households who are paying that much.

What’s a “housing crisis”?

California doesn’t appear to have a single definition for what constitutes a housing crisis. But according to Paavo Monkkonen, associate professor of urban planning and public policy at UCLA, speaking to a group of LA student journalists in 2022, a housing crisis occurs as the result of the combined factors of “unaffordability, instability and inability to house.”

When there are not enough affordable housing options for a population, it increases the risk that community members will fall through the housing cracks, particularly if they have barriers to housing or they suddenly face unexpected life challenges like injury, divorce, or job loss.

What’s Redding’s Overall Housing Stock and How Much of it is Rental Units?

Redding’s approximately 36,000 housing units include about 17,000 renter-occupied units according to 2018 California Housing and Community Development data used in the City’s current General Plan Housing Element.

What’s the City’s Rental Vacancy Rate? 

In 2017, the City’s rental vacancy rate hovered just above 5%, meaning at any given time, 5% of the City’s rentals were available.

It’s plummeted since then, to only between 1-2% now. That’s really low, especially compared to a State-wide rental vacancy rate of just under 4%.

Bade said a healthy rental vacancy rate for the City would be more like 5-10%.

The rental vacancy rate has been impacted by home losses from recent North State wildfires, including the Carr, Camp, and Zogg fires, which destroyed homes in both Shasta County and nearby communities. The rebuilding process is slow, especially given current construction costs. 

Bade also acknowledged that Bethel’s student population, about 2,500 annually in 2020, also significantly impacts availability in the local rental market.

Why Do Rental Vacancy Rates Matter? 

A low rental vacancy rate means that it’s very hard for residents to find a place to rent; that difficulty increases when someone faces additional barriers.

For example, those with low income, pets, disabilities, or a behavioral or criminal history, may have a much harder time finding rentals than those without those concerns.

Community members attempting to find rentals using a HUD voucher will face additional restrictions because not all units are HUD-eligible. The City’s General Plan Housing Element indicates there is an extremely low vacancy rate for HUD-eligible units in Redding, although the plan doesn’t specify how low that rate is.

How Many of Redding’s rental units are being used for short-term rentals?

The city estimates there are approximately 400 short-term rentals within city limits right now. That’s about 2.3% percent of the City’s overall rental units. The number of units being used for short-term rentals has also more than doubled in recent years. Documents obtained by Shasta Scout through public records requests indicate that the City had only 108 registered short-term rentals in 2018.

How do community members feel about the impact of short-term rentals?

Of the approximately 600 community members who responded to a survey about short-term rentals earlier this year, nearly 55% said that short-term rentals have a negative impact on local housing inventory and 61% said there should be a cap on the overall number of short-term rentals allowed.

How will the City address its complex interconnected tourism and residential housing needs? 

We’re about to find out. City Council members will discuss short-term rentals again on Tuesday, June 6, at 6 pm as they consider updates to the City’s zoning policies, including whether to cap the total number of rentals or limit their density. 

See the city’s short-term rental information here.

Related coverage:

Redding’s Proposed Short Term Rental Ordinance Update Doesn’t Take Into Account City Housing Data: Here’s Why That Matters