WHITEFISH — One of the big concerns from Whitefish citizens regarding the housing crisis is the amount of housing taken up by short-term or vacation rentals and the City of Whitefish has been exploring how to remedy this issue.
During the November 20, 2023, Whitefish City Council meeting, they voted unanimously to create a new job and hire an employee to focus on enforcing local short-term rental laws.
The city reports about 705 short-term rentals within the City of Whitefish. Of those, 374 are legal, registered short-term rentals and 331 are unregistered, illegal units.
The definition of a short-term rental is any dwelling renting out rooms or a full unit for less than 30 days.
The City of Whitefish has zones where short-term rentals can be located within city limits.
The hope is that the new position will crack down on short-term rentals outside of these zones.
The city is currently working on creating a job definition before putting the position out to the public to hire an official as this is a new idea and new position.
