Brainerd Officials Receive Permit Applications for Rental Properties

Brainerd officials received permit applications for two short-term rental properties and had two different answers for the applicants. The first application involved a short-term rental operating without a license. When informed by city staff that the rental was in violation of city permitting, the owners continued to offer the unlicensed property for rent while their interim rental permit was pending. Their permit was denied. The second permit was approved. Those owners promptly went through the process of getting licensed and removed the property from short-term rental sites. The contrast between the second property owner’s contrition and the first seemingly flouting the law seemed to make the difference. The larger question for the city, whether short-term rentals should be permitted at all, was debated. An ordinance will be drafted for the council to review.