🎯 STRisker: Bulletin - Pullman, WA
Pullman Targets Illegal Short-Term Rentals Following Resident Complaint
From One Spark to a Firestorm: Pullman Gets Tough on STRs
Pullman’s short-term rental (STR) debate just went from simmer to boil—and all it took was one complaint. This month, the city mailed out 57 warning letters to operators flagged as running illegal Airbnbs or VRBOs. Come January, those who haven’t brought their rentals into compliance could be staring down daily fines of up to $250, maxing out at $5,000.
The enforcement stems from a new set of STR regulations passed in May by a split 4–2 council vote and effective since June. Among the rules: operators must hold a business license, pass a city inspection, file a detailed evacuation plan with safety requirements like lighted exit signs and carbon monoxide detectors, and pay a $200 application fee for an annual advertising permit. Renewals will be free, but the upfront burden is enough to make some hosts uneasy.
Mayor Francis Benjamin had made clear that the city’s approach would be “complaint-driven.” Sure enough, it was one operator’s concern about others dodging the rules that spurred the city into action. That single complaint led city staff to coordinate with Airbnb and VRBO, which helped identify dozens of unregistered rentals.
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The controversy didn’t take long to hit the council floor. At a recent meeting, candidate Trevor Vance, who’s vying for an open seat this fall, questioned whether such a broad crackdown based on one complaint was fair or proportional. Councilmembers Nathan Weller and Pat Wright—both of whom voted against the May ordinance—thanked him for raising the point and signaled they may revisit the issue.
Still, the ordinance has supporters. Councilmembers Eric Fejeran, Carla de Lira, Megan Guido, and former councilman Trymaine Gaither pushed the rules through after years of Planning Commission review. Their argument: without clear guardrails, Pullman’s STR market has ballooned unchecked, especially during Washington State University football weekends when hundreds of visitors pour in and hundreds of listings pop up online. At the time, only about a dozen operators were legal under the city’s previous conditional use permit system.
Assistant City Planner Ariel Medeiros, who drafted much of the ordinance, signed off on the warning letters. That move has put her, and by extension the city’s planning staff, squarely in the spotlight as hosts scramble to interpret and meet the new requirements.
With January 1 set as the enforcement deadline, hosts now face a choice: get legal or risk hefty fines. Whether the rules strike the right balance between community safety, housing stability, and tourism dollars remains a hot question—but one thing’s certain: in Pullman, the short-term rental experiment is now under strict watch.
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