Is Airbnb Allowed in Las Vegas?

Vegas visitors seeking the perfect accommodation often turn to short-term rental services like Airbnb, Home Away, or Vrbo. After all, a house near the Las Vegas Strip is the ideal home base for a bachelor party or family trip.

Guests seeking alternative arrangements to hotels and ever-escalating resort fees are also drawn to peer-to-peer rental services. Unfortunately, short-term rental platforms have a complicated history in Las Vegas, and face strict regulation.

Confusing matters further, rules surrounding short-term rentals actually differ between the City of Las Vegas (think north end of the Strip and downtown) and Clark County (the area surrounding the Strip) – I’ll spell out those differences below.

Short Term Rental Rules in Clark County (The Strip)

For years, Clark County (which includes the Strip) outlawed short term rentals to prevent neighborhood disturbances. There were also concerns that short term rentals may not have adequate fire detection equipment, security, safety features, etc.

Essentially, the county wasn’t able to… or didn’t want to… bear the burden of inspecting properties to ensure they meet the same standards that commercial operations adhere to.

That changed when Nevada’s state legislature passed a bill (AB363) that forced the county’s hand, mandating they legalize and regulate the practice by July 1st, 2022.

In response to that state legislation, Clark County passed an ordinance that legalizes short term rentals and regulates the market.

Some details contained in the ordinance include:

• Only permits 1% of the houses in Clark County to be licensed for short term rental use.
• Requires short term rentals to be no less than 1,000 feet from other short term rental homes.
• Requires short term rentals to be no less than 2,500 feet from hotels.
• Limits short term rental owners to 1 single property.
• Requires a license that ranges from $750 for homes with 3 or fewer bedrooms and $1,500 for those with more than 3 bedrooms.
• Requires an inspection of licensed properties ($150 fee).
• Caps maximum occupancy at 2 people per room and 10 people per unit.
• Requires properties to carry a minimum amount of liability insurance.
• Establishes a 24-hour complaint hotline in which residents can expect a response within 30 minutes.
• Establishes fines for property owners that operate in the unregulated black market.

The ordinance, an FAQ page, and additional resources can be found on the county’s website, here.

The ordinance is much stricter than companies like Airbnb, VRBO, and the folks that rent out homes were hoping for, and will likely lead to a decrease in short term rental inventory on the market.

Short Term Rental Rules in Las Vegas (Downtown and Nearby)

Shifting focus, the actual City of Las Vegas (think north end of the Strip and the area around Fremont Street) allows short-term rentals under certain conditions. The property owner must have registered as a business, pay a $500 annual fee, ensure their property is 660 feet from other short-term rental units, and be occupied by the owner.

You read that correctly – Whole-house rentals are not allowed… Only the type of rental arrangement where the owner is sleeping under the same roof as your family or group. Awkward.

Like Clark County, The City of Las Vegas also offers a FAQ page that addresses their short term rental policy as well as a complaint hotline.

Ultimately, keeping a tight grip on rentals honestly makes a lot of sense. If you’re a nice middle-class family just trying to get your kid to bed on a school night, a raging house party next door would be infuriating.

Although nobody is quite satisfied by the current regulations (especially in Clark County), having a set of defined rules is helpful for both tourists and those looking to rent their property out.