Are you looking to rent a shared housing unit in New Orleans? If so, you need to be aware of the new regulations that recently went into effect. Whether you need to apply for a residential or commercial permit depends on the zoning district in which the property is located. Properties in commercial or mixed-use districts may be eligible for a business permit, but may also qualify for a residential permit if they meet certain property and family housing exemption requirements. Properties in residential zoning districts, however, are only eligible for residential permits.
The type of residential permit required depends on the type of building. Before any property can be used as a shared housing unit, the owner must apply for and receive an owner's permit and associate it with a valid operator's permit. An operator's permit is a permit that allows a person to operate or manage one or more shared housing units. Each shared housing unit must have an associated owner's permit and an operator's permit. Owner permit holders can act as their own operators or designate another operator.
Once a person obtains an operator's permit, they can use it to manage any shared housing unit in the Orleans parish. There is no limit to the number of shared housing units that can be managed by a single operator, although additional permit fees may apply. A shared housing platform is a portal, ad service, website, or company through which a person other than the owner of a shared housing unit charges or receives a commission for facilitating a booking transaction (an agreement between a shared housing guest and an shared housing owner with respect to an shared housing). The most recognized platforms are online services such as Airbnb and VRBO. For any service or platform to legally facilitate a booking transaction from an shared housing unit, it must request and receive permission from the shared housing platform. Platforms are now required to ensure that all ads include owner and operator permit numbers identified by the host and remove ads that the city has identified as illegal within seven days of notification. The new regulations create strict limitations on the types of permits that can be issued in a zoning district.
Some restrictions apply to entire zoning districts, while others only apply to certain types of housing units. Therefore, it is difficult to provide a general description of these limitations. Summaries of the broader limitations are presented below:
- Shared housing units are not allowed in the Garden District, which is bounded by the center line of St. Charles Avenue, the downriver side of Jackson Avenue, the center line of Magazine Street, and the downriver side of Louisiana Avenue.
- Commercial shared housing units are not allowed in Subdistrict RIV-3 Bywater or Subdistrict RIV-4 Marigny.
- Except for the VCE Vieux Carre entertainment district (Bourbon Street from Iberville Street to St.
Ann Street), shared housing units are not allowed on the Vieux Carre.
- Buildings that are single-family or two-family homes;
- The CBD's central business districts (except when the building is newly built or substantially improved), the CE educational campus, the MC medical campus, the LS Life Science or M-MU mixed-use maritime districts, or the Michigan maritime industrial commercial and recreational subdistrict;
- Buildings facing Canal Street between Mississippi River and Rampart Street;
- The CE educational campus, MC medical campus, LS life science districts, or commercial and recreational subdistrict of Michigan Maritime Industrial District.
You will sign a lease agreement with New Orleans Housing LLC which transfers management and operation of lease to Patrician Management. Limited financial resources along with aging housing units and large backlog of maintenance and repair tasks make it difficult for DON to provide high-quality housing to service members. The full-year option is most affordable with discount during summer semester for students with full-year leases. Students must opt for gender-inclusive housing in order to participate or be assigned to gender-inclusive suite. The difference between assignment of DON home (minimum 6 months) and lease with New Orleans LLC (12 months) is incorporation of legal language established by Louisiana Fair Housing Act which makes it legal.
Reduction in housing budget along with aging housing units and delay in maintenance make it difficult for DON to provide quality housing to service members. The Navy Welcome to Housing Center will provide assistance to all members of military and their dependents in finding adequate and affordable housing. Allocations may include two bedroom unit with shared bathroom or four bedroom unit with two shared bathrooms. PPV is designed to have no out-of-pocket costs for service member to reside in basic home. Part of housing application process for Navy includes identifying EFM applicants and providing adequate housing to meet their needs. The Navy Welcome to Housing Center will provide assistance to all members of military and their dependents in finding adequate and affordable housing in community.
