The former Code Department Director Carl Smart’s decision to pause judgment of several appeals from Type 2 short-term rental owners became clear over the course of the July 26 meeting of the Building and Standards Commission, over a year after many of the appellants’ licenses had expired. “I don’t want to say he was stalling,” […]
Austin Code
Formerly known as Code Compliance, this is the city department that handles enforcement of city code violations. Its work is complaint-driven.
Posted inAustin
Short-term rentals under scrutiny as SXSW kicks off
The Austin Code Department has started its annual tradition of stepped-up monitoring and enforcement of regulations covering short-term rental businesses, the official policy name for homeowners who rent out extra rooms to tourists visiting for the South by Southwest festival. The lucrative practice, which is aided by websites such as Airbnb and the Austin-based HomeAway, […]
Posted inAustin
East Austin theater at the center of code dispute
The Austin Code Department is responsible for making sure land is used for its intended purpose. So what happens when land-use rules are broken? One East Austin theater at the center of a code dispute is finding out the answer to that question. There are a lot of ways to violate city code – for […]
Posted inThe Code
City contract hopes to protect tenants who speak up
Black mold and a stack of documents Legal notices and lease copies blanketed a plush beige couch in a North Austin apartment. Rebekah Jara rummaged through the papers. Lawyers had urged her and her fiancé, Juan Aranda, to keep copies of everything. More letters would come. But up to that point, Jara and Aranda had […]
Posted inAustin
Viral news proves a mixed bag for Great Outdoors
Tom Tinguely, owner of the Great Outdoors nursery on South Congress, wants everyone to know that he is working through issues with the city’s Development Services and Code departments and that the business is fully operational. That’s important, because when the Dawson Neighborhood Organization tried to call attention to problems that the Great Outdoors was […]
Posted inCity Hall
Code Department slammed (again) in city audit
The department charged with policing overgrown grass, short-term rentals and illegally discarded junk fails to follow a consistent protocol for overseeing violations and does not enforce violations with equal fervor on city-owned property, reads a report from the Office of the City Auditor. In a review of 306 code complaints, the auditor took issue with […]
Posted inThe Code
Nursery owner fears city will force closure
The website for the Dawson Neighborhood Group warns in bold letters, “Dawson Neighborhood Poised to Lose Another Beloved Business! Help the Great Outdoors!” The site urges readers to contact the offices of Mayor Steve Adler and City Council Member Pio Renteria. A similar plea appears on the Great Outdoors nursery’s website. Problems arose when Thomas […]
Posted inHousing
Code says STR licenses are a strain on staff
Short-term rentals such as those listed on Airbnb and HomeAway are a hot-button issue in Austin, and the city is at work trying to fix the problems that residents have drawn attention to in the past several months. Austin Code Department staff has also identified problems, not the least of which is a shortage of […]
Posted inBudget
Code budget talk quickly turns to STRs
City Council managed to tear through budget presentations for seven city departments yesterday. Of those, the Code Department seemed to bear the lion’s share of scrutiny, with the promise of more to come. “It wouldn’t surprise me at all if this part of the budget doesn’t come back several times over the course of the […]
Posted inDevelopment, Housing
Report: Dangerous rental properties threaten tenants, city efforts remain “inadequate”
The city of Austin is failing to identify unsafe rental properties, failing to effectively monitor properties with repeated code violations and lacks the enforcement mechanisms needed to quickly address dangerous conditions at repeat offender properties. Those are the conclusions of a study by members of the University of Texas Law School’s Entrepreneurship and Community Development […]
Posted inAustin
Code working weekends on STR problems
Members of Austin’s Code Compliance Department are working overtime on weekends trying to deal with complaints about short-term rental properties that are making life unpleasant for people in surrounding neighborhoods. However, a memo from department Director Carl Smart shows a great deal of effort resulting in little enforcement. According to Smart, during the first weekend […]
Posted inAustin
City to temporarily strengthen STR enforcement
This month, the city will launch a pilot program for enhanced code enforcement for short-term rentals. The stepped-up enforcement is a response to increased complaints about short-term rentals and growing concerns about their regulation. During the pilot program, members of Austin Code, Police and Fire departments will team up with Austin 3-1-1 to perform “proactive […]