Clark County Votes to Update “Unconstitutional” and “Vague” Short-Term Rental Ordinance

LAS VEGAS, NV – Officials in Clark County Nevada unanimously voted Tuesday to amend their ordinances governing short-term rentals within its jurisdiction in order to update regulations that a judge had previously ruled to be unconstitutional.

Previously, a lawsuit filed by the Greater Las Vegas Short-Term Rental Association (GLVSTRA) had resulted in a preliminary injunction being imposed by District Court Judge Jessica Peterson, who had ruled that certain aspects of Clark County’s short term rental ordinances regulating the local industry were “vague” and “unconstitutional.” 

County attorney Lisa Logsdon said this week the commissioners agreed to clean up the language in their guidelines, noting that the county “took many of the court’s suggestions in drafting these amendments to ensure that the amendments address the court’s concerns with the ordinance.”

The changes to the ordinance are as follows:

• Renters are no longer required to sign applications under penalty of perjury.
• Inspectors must now provide 48 hours’ notice before showing up to inspect a property; previously, no advance notice was required.
• Large parties are still forbidden at short term rental properties, but the previously “vague” definition of what constitutes a large party has been stricken from the regulations.
• The county will now rely on existing code that regulates noise, lighting and air-quality standards.

However, GLVSTRA President and Director Jacqueline Flores issued a statement reacting to the news of Clark County’s revisions to their ordinance, saying that she did not believe they would be sufficient to alleviate the concerns of the over 700 homeowners that her organization represents.

“Many of those amendments do very little to fix the infirmities the Court has serious issues with and in other cases the County just didn’t fix some of the Sections at all,” she said. “The County is doing very little or nothing at all to satisfy the unconstitutionality of those provisions.” 

Logsdon noted that Clark County officials are eager to arrive at an agreement that would satisfy GLVSTRA’s lawsuit, saying that the district attorney’s office had requested that the association draft a “written settlement offer” and submit it for their consideration. 

Flores responded that there was a lack of interest on the part of Clark County commissioners last month to discuss a potential settlement, but noted that if their attitude is now different, she would be willing to discuss it with them.

“If the County Commissioners have now changed their mind, then we welcome that conversation,” she said.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.