Vegas Enacts Rules for Rental Party Houses

By: James Dehaven (Las Vegas Review Journal) October 2014

Las Vegas leaders took another stab at regulating the city’s oft-maligned “party houses” Wednesday, voting almost unanimously for a bill to crack down on sometimes raucous short-term vacation rentals.

The ordinance, which was tabled by City Council members in August, requires homeowners who lease residential properties for less than 31 days to get a city-issued $500 annual license.

It also requires owners to make someone available to respond to noise and tenant conduct complaints within two hours.

The bill bars tenants from holding weddings, parties, receptions and other “banquet facility” events on rental property and bans the use of stereos and musical instruments outdoors.

Rental property owners can lease out a maximum of five bedrooms to no more than 18 occupants under the ordinance.

They could lose their city-issued short-term rental license if those tenants are found in violation of the new rules.

Short-term tenants, for their part, could face up to a $1,000 fine and as many as six months in jail for violating a companion ordinance also passed Wednesday.

That bill redefines “unruly gatherings” as any group of eight or more that poses a threat to public health and safety or “disturbs the quiet enjoyment” of neighboring residential properties. The ordinance applies to all city residents, not just party house owners and tenants.

Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian, who sponsored both bills, has worked for more than four years on legislation meant to rein in short-term rentals. She ended up casting the lone “protest” vote to oppose the city’s new short-term rental licensing rules after her fellow council members opted out of a staff-proposed special use permit for rental home owners.

Tarkanian said the city’s party homes, which are often leased to tourists, tend to attract out-of-control revelers, even “whores,” to otherwise quiet neighborhoods.

“We called it a short-term rental ordinance, but this is dealing with party houses,” the Ward 1 Councilwoman said Monday. “Not all of them are disruptive, but 10 to 20 percent have caused a lot of problems.

“I just feel very strongly that if you’re in a residential area, you’re not supposed to have a business in there,” she added. “We would in no way want to hurt somebody that’s running a small business, but some of these (short-term rental) owners own 20 houses.”

Tarkanian blamed a lack of enforcement options for Las Vegas’ failed 2008 ban on short-term rentals.

She and her fellow bill backers shared horror stories about party homes hosting rowdy fraternities on weekends and youth soccer teams during the week.

Rental owners and ordinance opponents estimate there are more than 600 such party homes in the Las Vegas Valley. They reminded council members that not all party homes are short-term rentals and not all short-term rentals are party homes.

Staffers had looked at levying a $1,030 special use permit on party house owners in an effort to put some teeth into the city’s party house rules. That provision was dropped after City Council members heard opposition from high-powered lobbyist Jay Brown.

Business Licensing Director Karen Duddlesten hopes Las Vegas’ new unruly gatherings ordinance can help stiffen the city’s short-term rental licensing regulations.

She expects city code compliance officers to enforce the new rules. Those officers are only available on weekends until 5 p.m.

Code enforcement’s limited ability to respond to rowdy party homes prompted a heated back-and-forth between Councilman Steve Ross and Tarkanian regarding after-hours enforcement, an exchange Deputy City Manager Orlando Sanchez eventually stepped in to mediate.

Sanchez said the city is already looking into expanding code enforcement’s role in responding to party home complaints.

“A lot of times what we do is defer this to Metro,” Sanchez said. “This (ordinance) would allow us to go out there and enforce our ordinances a little better.

“We’re doing staff modeling to see what the demand is for our services. … We’re looking at the need, the demand, for a swing-hift position.”

Short-term residential rentals are already banned in Henderson and Clark County.

Las Vegas’ most recent regulatory cap on the properties does not apply to halfway houses or other “community residences.” City Council members plan to revisit the ordinance next year.
Las Vegas Review Journal