The Bend City Council will revisit the issue of short term rentals and their impact on affordable housing. In a meeting Wednesday, the council talked about the need to proactively regulate the short-term rental market. This spring, the city will conduct an audit of all short-term rentals in Bend to try identify illegal rentals. A survey last year showed legal, short-term rentals have continued to increase. Right now the number of short-term rentals legally permitted in Bend is around 1000. The city is concerned about the impact on the availability of long term rentals. In a survey last year of registered short-term rental property owners, moste people cited "more oney" as the reason they chose to rent short term vs. long term. It's directly contributing to a housing crunch for people who normally rent long term. The city wants to better understand how to incentivize operators of short term rentals to convert their properties into long-term rentals.