Daily Regulatory Notes 10/10/2024
New Orleans, LA
On Thursday morning the City Council approved Calendar No 34806 which will require platforms to verify short-term rentals’ legal eligibility before booking transactions. The measure will go into effect in March 2025 and will require the city to create a rental registry that can be provided to the short-term rental platforms.**** NEW ORLEANS ORDINANCE ****
The measure which was introduced on August 22, 2024 but had taken a lot of time to be drafted will fall after New Orleans peak tourism season.
Having no way to keep a property offline for good "was a little bit confounding to me because that seemed to defeat the purpose of having permits,” Morrell said. “When [this] is in place, it will be a game changer because the Whack-a-Mole will end.”
However, the proposal won’t take effect until March 2025, after New Orleans hosts the Super Bowl and during the final weekend of Carnival season.
Morrell said Thursday that was because the city would need to invest in technology to create a platform of licensed STRs operating legally that the platforms could use to verify a listing. - New Orleans to require Airbnb to check for permits but not before Super Bowl 2025 payday - NOLA.com
Several other special exceptions for non-commercial short-term rental properties were considered by the Council. A couple examples:
Middletown, RI
During its Monday night meeting the City Council considered two ordinances impacting short-term rentals on first reading. Council opened a portion of the meeting as a public hearing to get the community’s opinions on how to regulate short-term rentals. A couple of the items in the proposal include restricting occupancy to 6 and increasing fees.The next meeting to discuss these ordinances is set for October 21 starting at 6:30 pm.
Hoffman called the ordinance changes an impingement on property rights. "The goal here is not only registration, but restriction," he said. "I'm not against regulations, but [they] need to be fair, reasonable and not overly restrictive. The current regulations go too far." Those regulations include raising registration fees from $55 to $99, that all new short-term rentals be owner-occupied, and they be limited to no more than six people. - Middletown Short-Term Rental Hearings Get Personal, Political
Newport, RI
Soon after the City Council failed to adopt short-term rental regulations on a 3-3 vote, Mayor Khamsyvoravong spoke about short-term rentals before the “the state’s special legislative commission studying the economic and social effects of the short-term rental industry chaired by Rep. Lauren Carson (Dist. 75-Newport).” - Newport Mayor Talks Tourism After Short-Term Rental Ban Fails - Newport This Week
Muskegon, MI
Muskegon City Council has approved an ordinance to cap short-term rentals at 4% per zone, allowing current licenses a one-time transfer on sale. The transfer amendment was added after the Planning Commission’s September 26 meeting where they approved the ordinance.
Mayor Ken Johnson described the one-time transfer as a "compromise" intended to give current short-term rental operators the ability to recoup their property value if they decide to sell. - Muskegon passes ‘compromise’ short-term rental cap ordinance - Grand Rapids Business Journal
Hendersonville, TN
City of Hendersonville granted injunction against illegal short-term rentals