Judge Temporarily Blocks Clark County Short-Term Rental Rules Amid GLVSTRA/Airbnb Lawsuit

LAS VEGAS, NV – A judge has granted a temporary injunction blocking the rollout of Clark County rules governing short-term rentals while a lawsuit brought against the municipality by the Greater Las Vegas Short-Term Rental Association (GLVSTRA) and Airbnb proceeds through the court system.

The rules were originally set to go into effect on Monday, September 1, and would have mandated Airbnb to oversee the listings on its platform and take down the ones that fail to adhere to county licensing rules. Those operating unlicensed short-term rentals would have faced fines of $500 for a first offense and $1,000 for subsequent violations.

The injunction was issued by U.S. District Judge Miranda Du late last week “pending a final decision on the merits” of the lawsuit against Clark County, while noting that her decision was dictated by the limited immunity for online platforms that is granted by a federal provision.

Because Plaintiffs have shown that they are likely to succeed on the merits of their Section 230 claim and that they will be irreparably harmed absent preliminary injunctive relief, the Court necessarily finds that the balance of equities tips in their favor and that such relief serves the public interest,” Du said.

Airbnb called the ruling a “win for everyday Nevadans.”

The GLVSTRA/Airbnb lawsuit alleges that the plaintiffs’ Third, Fourth, Fifth and 14th Amendment rights – as well as several sections of the Nevada Constitution – are being violated by Clark County’s preventing of residents from exercising their right to lease their properties, depriving them of their livelihoods. The county’s extraordinarily slow process of issuing permits to renters – in addition to numerous burdensome regulations – is also a bone of contention named in the lawsuit as well.

Assembly Bill 363 was signed into law by the Nevada legislature in 2021, requiring municipalities to draw up regulations governing the short-term rental industries within their borders.

After approving a short-term rental ordinance in June 2022, Clark County had started a pre-application process for short term rentals in September 2022, with the deadline for submission having been August 2023. 1,169 of the pre-applications they received were deemed eligible and the homeowners that submitted them were subsequently allowed to submit a short-term rental license application.

However, the process of approving these applications has been a slow and arduous one that has found itself ensnared in red tape; as of today, a mere 175 licenses have been approved and 141 denied; 515 are still pending, drawing the ire of homeowners who say they are losing money every day they are forced to wait.

Shelter Realty Property Management specializes 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.