Clark County approves short-term rental ordinance

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - Commissioners approved regulating short-term rentals in unincorporated Clark County Tuesday. Commissioners made their decision after multiple public comment sessions, including hours of public comment.

“Regulations are also important because then it has everybody operating with the same guidelines,” said Commission Chairman James Gibson.

Some of the rules include:

• The occupancy limit is 2 per bedroom, with no more than 10 people
• Parties are prohibited, so any more than 10 people are prohibited
• Minimum two-night stay for all reservations
• Distance separation of 1,000 feet between short-term rentals
• 2,500 feet from a resort-casino
• No more than 10% of units in a multifamily unit, excluding apartments

Others who testified during a public comment period worry about the number of properties that will no longer be able to operate.

“That’s ridiculous, when you have over 12,000 illegal properties right now running, if you are going to do 2800, you are going to have a sea of illegal properties and even the best code enforcement officers are not going to be able to do it,” Gibson added.

The chairman said the rules could change.

“We are going to be regulating this business for a long time, I don’t know what is going to happen, I think it is possible for over the course of time we could learn that there is much more to be gained by expanding the number of and the percentage of people who licensed in the community to do this business,” he explained.

The county will also manage a 24-hour hotline for complaints and public response.

A six-month application period will open up this September to enter the lottery to get a permit.

“It just seems like the lottery system doesn’t make any sense, one percent, it’s the same chance as winning the actual lottery,” Gibson said.

The regulations were partially decided upon after surveys were conducted on short-term rentals. Of the 5,800 responses:

• 55% of respondents did see the presence of short-term rentals as negative
• 76% said there should be a limited overall maximum number of guests to fewer than 16
• 77% said there should be a limited number of guests per bedroom, 70% recommending two per bedroom
• 80% of people said complaints should be responded to within an hour

The county will also manage a 24-hour hotline for complaints and to help with the public response to any issues.

An announcement is expected August 1 on the short-term rental application process. Then there will be a six-month application period from Sept. 1 to March 1, 2023.

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