Newport Beach Municipal Code (“NBMC”) 5.95 defines an agent as any person who is authorized in writing by the owner of a short term lodging unit to represent and act for an owner.
NBMC 5.95.025 states:
An owner may retain an agent to comply with the requirements of this chapter, including, without limitation, the filing of an application for an annual permit, the renewal of a permit, the reinstatement of a permit or the transfer of a permit; the management of the short term lodging unit or units; and the compliance with the short term lodging permit conditions. The permit shall be issued only to the owner of the short term lodging unit or units. The owner of the short term lodging unit or units is responsible for compliance with the provisions of this chapter and the failure of an agent to comply with this chapter shall be deemed noncompliance by the owner.
The City’s Finance Director may direct agents and hosting platforms to collect and remit the Uniform Transient Occupancy Tax (“UTOT”) and Visitor Service Fee (“VSF”) to the City on behalf of the property owners they represent and/or manage and confirm their clients are in compliance with all short-term lodging requirements.
NBMC 5.95.050 states:
(A) (1) Collect all applicable transient occupancy taxes and visitor service fees that are imposed on the transient, pursuant to Chapters 3.16 and 3.28, from the transient, or from the person paying for such rental, at the time payment for such rental is made;
(2) Remit to the City any transient occupancy taxes or visitor service fees collected by the hosting platform or agent to the City before the last day of the month following the close of each calendar quarter or on the day specified by the Finance Director of a different reporting period has been established.
(B) Subject to applicable laws, agents and hosting platforms shall disclose to the City on a regular basis each home-sharing and vacation rental listing located in the City, the names of the persons responsible for each such listing, the address of each such listing, the length of stay for each such listing and the price paid for each stay.
(C) (1) Agents and hosting platforms: Shall prompt any person utilizing their advertising services to include the City-issued registration number in their listing(s), in a format designated by the City and shall not advertise any short term lodging unit where a registration number is not provided. Upon notice from the City that a listing is non-compliant, agents and hosting platforms shall cease any short-term rental booking transactions for said listing(s) within five (5) business days. An agent or hosting platform shall not complete any booking transaction for any short-term lodging unit subject to a City notice that a unit is non-compliant, until notified by the City that the short-term lodging unit follows the local registration requirement.
(2) Shall not collect or receive a fee, directly or indirectly, for facilitating or providing services ancillary to an unpermitted short term lodging unit including, but not limited to, insurance, concierge services, catering, restaurant bookings, tours, guide services, entertainment, cleaning, property management, or maintenance of the short term lodging unit.
In order to comply with the NBMC requirement of reporting and remitting UTOT/VSF, your company must keep and preserve all records for a period not less than four years. These books and records may include but are not limited to: daily guest folios, accounting records used in determining UTOT, reservations (with guest name, date of stay, rent and additional fees), hosting platform reports showing monthly bookings, bank deposit statements, support for claimed exemptions, federal and state income tax returns. All records may be subject to audit and inspection.