Las Vegas Homeowner Successfully Sues Clark County Over Short-Term Rental License Denial

LAS VEGAS, NV – An elderly Las Vegas Valley homeowner successfully sued Clark County over the denial of her license to operate a short-term rental, with a judge agreeing with her lawyers that her constitutional rights were violated by the municipality.

Clark County’s short-term rental license approval process has been mired in red tape, with applicants left frustrated over the slow process of reviewing and approving property owners; a mere handful of licenses granted to date, amid a backlog numbering in the hundreds.

The situation has gotten so bad, in fact, that a group of property owners are currently in the process of suing Clark County, claiming that the excessive red tape involved in the sluggish approval process is taking money out of their pockets each and every day.

However, in a separate lawsuit, a District Court judge ruled earlier this month in favor of Leslie Doyle, 84 – along with a second, unnamed homeowner – who had wanted to utilize her residence as a short-term rental in order to make extra money and help cover her medical expenses.

But Clark County denied the retiree’s application, based partly on the fact that the two properties in question utilize septic systems, as opposed to sewer connections; Doyle appealed the decision, but the county shut her down a second time upon review, according to her attorneys, prompting a lawsuit.

Clark County has arbitrarily denied Petitioners’ applications to use their homes as licensed short-term rentals simply because their homes use ‘lawful’ alternative wastewater systems,” the lawsuit read. “This case is about Clark County’s violation of Petitioners’ constitutional rights under the ‘Equal Protection Clause.’”

District Judge Crystal Eller agreed, and on August 6 she ruled in Doyle’s favor, saying in her decision that the county gave no valid reason to exclude homes with septic tanks from the short-term rental process.

This county had an opportunity to submit whatever it wanted to with regard to if there was a rational basis for the differential treatment,” she said.

“A petition for judicial review is an improper vehicle for raising an Equal Protection challenge,” documents submitted by county attorneys said in response to the ruling, also claiming that Doyle did not have the required general liability insurance.

Greater Las Vegas Short-Term Rental Association (GLVSTRA) president Jackie Flores has previously taken the county to task for what she described as “overly restrictive” short-term rental requirements.

The different requirements and restrictions that they have put in place are designed to prevent people from getting licensed, and many of those restrictions are just violating property rights and constitutional protections for property owners,” she said.

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.