In response to the recent addition of the Lakefront Residential Zone, the Town of Ithaca asked lakeshore residents and property owners to complete a brief survey. The survey was intended to gauge resident’s opinions and concerns regarding length and nature of leases and rentals in the new Lakefront Residential Zone. In total, 123 surveys were mailed to residents on the East and West Shore of Cayuga Lake, in addition all property owners regardless of the location of their permanent residence. Of the mailed surveys, 61 completed surveys were returned; that’s just under half! Thank you, residents, for taking the time to complete the surveys!

Click here to view the survey mailed to residents.

The following links summarize important information revealed by the survey.  

1. Survey Response Rate

2. Renter and Owner Characteristics

3. Lease Characteristics

4. Importance of Renting as Income

5. Reported Complaints and Problems

6. Suggested Changes

7. Additional comments

1.     Survey Response Rate

Overall, a very high response rate of 50 percent! 

Table 1: Response Rate

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2. Renter and Owner Characteristics

Table 2 shows that over 90 percent of survey respondents are property owners, while only five respondents said they were renting a property on the lakefront.

Table 2: Proportion of Owners and Renters who Responded to Survey

Table 3 shows that 75 percent of property owners permanently reside at their lakefront property, while the remaining 25 percent of property owners live in locations other than their lakefront property.

Table 3: Permanent Residence of Property Owners

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3. Lease Characteristics

The following tables describe the type and length of leases as reported by owners, and in some cases, as observed by neighbors.

In response to Question 3, “Have you, in the past 12 months, rented your house to others?” 30 percent of property owners reported that they had rented their property to others recently.

Table 4: Renting of Properties

To Question 4a, “Approximately how many leases were signed in the past twelve months by renters?” most of the owners who rented their property, answered that they did so primarily on an annual basis.

Table 5: Number of Leases Signed per Year

Table 6, below, shows the nature and length of leases as reported by landlords and as reported by neighbors. Please note landlords often indicated that they rented their properties with a variety of “Lease Types.” For example, a landlord may rent his or her property on both a monthly basis and for graduation weekend.

Despite the difference in the number of leases landlords and renters reported there to be; both neighbors and landlords indicated that approximately 50 percent of leases signed are annual. Neighbors indicate that there are a greater number of weekly and monthly leases then landlords convey.

Table 6: Lease Types

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4. Importance of Renting as Income

“Renting my home to others is an important source of income to me”

Roughly one quarter of respondents reported that renting was a “very important” or an “important” source of income to them. Most of those who indicated income earned from rent was either a “very important” or “important” source of income, tended to rent their property to others. Similarly, those who did not find renting an important source of income, typically did not rent their property to others.

Table 7: Importance of Renting to Owners

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5. Reported Complaints and Problems

Survey respondents had few complaints concerning noise, parking or damage to property. However, of those that did experience problems, noise was by far the most common problem, accounting for 50 percent of reported problems with parking being the second most common problem. Of those who indicated they experienced problems, Table 8 records the number of people who experienced problems based on frequency, while Table 9 shows the type of problems experienced by respondents.

Table 8: Frequency of Problems

Table 9: Nature of Problems

*Please note that some respondents reported more than one complaint.

Table 10, below, shows what problems are associated with the different lease lengths (daily, weekend, etc.). While Question 10 “How often, if at all, have you experienced problems with neighboring tenants who occupy properties for short-term rental periods?” specifically asks about problems concerning short-term rentals; it appears that many respondents referred to their experience with all rental lengths when answering this question.

Table 10: Correlation between Type and Frequency of Problems 

Table 11 correlates the frequency of problems reported (never, sometimes, often) with the type of rental (daily, weekend, week, etc.)

ble 11:  Table 11: Correlation between Problem Frequency and Rental Type

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6. Suggested Changes

The survey asked respondents what type of changes, if any, they would like to see in the future. Below is a brief summary of the changes.

Table 12: Suggested Changes

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7: Additional Comments

If you would like to view further written comments made by survey respondents, or have additional comments, questions or concerns, please contact Esther Blodau-Konick at the Town of Ithaca either by telephone at (607) 273-1747, or by email at JKanter@town.ithaca.ny.us