Short-Term Rental Pre-Application Restrictions Causing Controversy for Clark County
LAS VEGAS, NV – Clark County has courted controversy after releasing the pre-application process for procuring licenses for short-term rentals starting in spring of 2023, which include restrictions that have many applicants crying foul over their purportedly restrictive nature.
Once the license pre-application period was officially opened to the public – both via the Clark County website as well as in-person at the Business License Office – over 40 individuals and counting so far have engaged in the process, and almost immediately many complaints began rolling in.
One of the applicants, Winnie Yang, was attempting to obtain a license to rent out her Spring Valley home as an Airbnb unit in order to make extra money on the side; however, she claimed that the license she is hoping to acquire has far too many restrictions that will make it difficult for her to operate the property as she wants to.
Among the factors that she said were an issue include the total number of rentals cannot be greater than one percent of the housing inventory; once the 6-month pre-application process is completed, a random lottery will be utilized to determine who will receive a short-term rental license; and despite Clark County’s plan to issue approximately 2,800 licenses, individuals will be granted one and one only, and they will only be allowed to operate a single property with that license.
Jackie Flores of Greater Las Vegas Short-Term Rental Association has claimed that the short-term rental restrictions are infringing on the constitutional rights of homeowners, and filed a lawsuit in August against Clark County regarding the matter.
“It’s considered the most restrictive ordinance for short-term rentals in the U.S.,” she said. “A lot of those provisions and restrictions, we feel, violate the state constitution and US Constitution.
Previously, short-term rentals were not legal in Clark County; however, in 2021, Assembly Bill 363 was voted into law, and decreed that as of July 1, 2022, it would be legal for companies such as Airbnb and VRBO to operate within the county. Furthermore, the county was also tasked with regulating the new industry, and lawmakers have since crafted an ordinance for that purpose, according to Clark County spokesperson, Erik Pappa.
“We want to allow everyone to compete equally for this process regardless of how many properties you have. We’re balancing a lot of competing interests,” he said. “We want to make sure that there’s adequate public safety. We’re going to inspect the buildings. We’re going to make sure that they have business licenses. Make sure that there is fire protection. All the things you want if you were staying in a hotel.”
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