LV ‘party house’ ordinance suspended; law to be improved

Las Vegas has taken a step back from a recently enacted short-term rental ordinance in order to figure out a way to allow some rentals while still being able to crack down on so-called "party houses."

On Wednesday, the City Council suspended enforcement of the 3-month-old ordinance until March 5 in order to work on a new version.

The suspended ordinance banned rentals of less than 31 days in areas zoned for residential use. It was aimed at the rental of homes to out-of-town rowdy partygoers who disturb the neighborhood. But there's a lively short-term rental industry in Las Vegas whose operators felt unfairly tarred by the "party house" brush.

Many homes are rented to families, corporate visitors, and even movie studios and photographers, and those owners and property managers say the ordinance chokes legitimate business. Henderson and Clark County have similar ordinances on the books.

During the suspension period, city staff will work on a permit process for those wishing to rent their homes to short-term guests. Councilman Steve Wolfson had a version of that process on Wednesday's council agenda but agreed to pull it to work on it further.

"My anticipation is that there will be a new ordinance, and it will be tighter than the one that was to be considered today," Wolfson said.