Las Vegas Short-Term Rental Owners Suing Clark County, State of Nevada, Claiming “Unconstitutional” Rights Violations
LAS VEGAS, NV – A group of short-term rental owners in Las Vegas have filed a federal lawsuit against both Clark County and the state of Nevada, claiming that restrictions imposed by both entities upon the rental owners in Southern Nevada are unconstitutionally violating their rights.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Nevada by the Greater Las Vegas Short-Term Rental Association (GLVSTRA) and several of its members, is seeking an injunction to block the county and state from enforcing short-term rental rules originally put into effect in September 2022, with only a handful of permits issued since then and a huge backlog still pending.
For many years, we have been attempting to work with our local and state politicians to come up with regulations that are fair for homeowners so that they can make ends meet. Every time that we have tried, they have made matters worse,” said GLVSTRA founder Jacqueline Flores. “As many people know, resort hotels are a powerful industry in this state and in the city and many [lawmakers] are beholden to the resort. hotel industry and they are the ones that are attacking property owners.”
The lawsuit – which Airbnb is reportedly expected to join – alleges that plaintiffs’ Third, Fourth, Fifth and 14th Amendment rights, as well as several sections of the Nevada Constitution, are being violated by residents being prevented from exercising their rights 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.
As a result, many homeowners are operating rentals with Clark County illegally; at current count, there are approximately 10,000 short-term rentals currently operating in Las Vegas, with the majority of them doing so without the benefit of a license.
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.
Christopher Boyle is an expert investigative journalist for SEARCHEN NETWORKS® and reports for independent news and media organizations in the United States. Christopher keeps a keen-eye on what’s happening in the Vegas real estate market on behalf of Shelter Realty Property Management