What typically is governed by individual condominium associations, has now become a public affair and the city is now getting involved in banning the use of condominiums as short-term rentals.
The Department of Planning and Development has interpreted the land use code to mean that multifamily units in a high-rise residential zone, can’t be rented for less than 30 days because this would be considered a commercial use.
This all came about last year when the city took action against 16 owners of units at the Elektra (1400 Hubbell Place) for the code violation after several other homeowners had complained about seeing “strangers” in the building. Check out SeattleSuite.com – looks like there are several still in the building and reviews are even surfacing on GoogleMaps!
As if 1 Hotel & Residences (2nd & Pine) doesn’t have enough to work through already, now the ruling could affect the future design of the building AGAIN as it was intended to be the city’s first condo-hotel allowing individual buyers to offer their suites as hotel rooms.