Here are Pasco’s new short-term rental rules. It’s a lifeline for one man with cancer
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- Property owners have until January 1, 2027, to comply with the new requirements.
- Operators must also maintain liability insurance and annual life safety.
- The ordinance allows short-term rentals in all residential zoning districts.
Residents who operate short-term rentals in Pasco will have to follow new rules unanimously approved by the city council.
Property owners have until Jan. 1, 2027, to comply with the new requirements.
The ordinance applies to both owners who list their properties on platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo, as well as those who rent them out without using those websites.
The measure is intended to help the city keep track of homes being used as short-term rentals and prevent conflicts between rental operators and neighbors.
Pasco becomes the first city in the Tri-Cities to adopt local regulations for short-term rentals that goes beyond existing Washington state laws.
Rules could help those who rely on rental income
The new rules could be a lifeline for residents who depend on income from short-term rentals and have long called for clear regulations that allow them to operate while maintaining good relationships in their neighborhood.
One of them is Bob Mangione, a Pasco man who hopes to rent out his four-bedroom house after advanced cancer is leaving him unable to work.
Mangione, 56, told the Tri-City Herald he’s been waiting for the city to adopt short-term rental rules so he could legally rent out his riverfront home in Pasco and continue supporting his son.
“We wanted to do business with integrity, even though we feel the financial rigors of the diagnosis of Stage 4 cancer and what that means for our family not being able to work,” said Mangione, who was diagnosed in 2023.
Although the ordinance has now been approved, Mangione said he still needs community support to raise money to build an accessory dwelling unit next to the home where he and his family can live.
“We don’t have the financial ability due to my condition,” he said. “... I simply can’t work like I used to. The tumor has invaded my vertebrae and reached the lining of my spinal cord. It was a very dangerous situation that almost left me paralyzed.”
The ordinance also brings hope to Lynne McKee, who plans to rent out the six-bedroom home she bought in Pasco 47 years ago.
She said the rental income would help her remain in her home after the death of her husband, Ted Keene, a Vietnam veteran who died in October 2025.
“I am unable to work. I am disabled, I have a disability coming in,” she recently told the Pasco City Council. “But if I can rent my home out on a short-term lease, it would provide me with a steady income, and I would not have to sell my home.”
New rules for short-term rental owners
Pasco residents who are already operating short-term rentals will not have to stop renting their properties while they work to comply with the new ordinance, City Manager Harold Stewart said during a June workshop.
Instead, existing operators will have until the last day of the year to meet the new requirements. After that deadline, the city will begin enforcing the ordinance, Deputy City Manager Richa Sigdel told the Herald.
Under the new rules, short-term rental operators must:
- Obtain a city of Pasco business license.
- Obtain a short-term rental permit for each property they rent. The permit must be renewed annually.
- Designate a local representative who is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to respond to neighbors’ complaints within one hour.
- Maintain liability insurance, as already required under Washington state law.
- Complete an annual life safety self-certification, keep it on the property and renew it each year along with the short-term rental permit.
- Prohibit events such as weddings and other large gatherings at the property.
The city council has not yet set the permit fee, Sigdel said.
“We are planning to do that between now and November of this year,” she said.
Sigdel also said the ordinance allows short-term rentals in all residential zoning districts, including single-family homes, apartments, condominiums, duplexes and four-plexes.
If neighbors report issues such as excessive noise or guests parking in neighboring spaces, the city’s code enforcement staff will contact the property’s local representative, who must resolve the issue within one hour.
“You’ll find the larger platforms, like the Airbnbs, who do have their own good neighbor handbooks. This is just covering for the short-term rental operators who might not be going through those larger platforms,” Sigdel explained.
Stewart also said the ordinance does not override rules established by homeowner associations.
“The city is not going to help the HOA enforce their regulations,” he said. “That’s a civil matter between HOA and the property owner.”
