A 2016 law that Governor Doug Ducey touted as helping people who want to make money renting their homes on Airbnb and other platforms would be repealed if a GOP-sponsored bill allowing cities to regulate short term rentals is approved. .
“We are now trying to regain some control,” said representative John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, of his proposal at a House government meeting and elections, claiming that the problems with short-term rentals are mainly related to noise, litter and traffic. “I think this is a softer intervention.”
His proposal, Bill 2481, would allow cities and towns to create residential use and zoning ordinances tied to short-term rentals. It would also require all short-term rental owners to register with the property with the city, town or county, which must then report who owns those properties to the Arizona Department of Revenue.
It also limits the occupancy of a vacation or short-term rental to two adults per room and prohibits owners from posting an occupancy number that exceeds what a property can hold. If a landlord does so, the local government would be allowed to impose a civil penalty.
A Kavanagh version presented last year failed after the legislative session was cut short due to COVID-19.
Ducey in 2016 touted the effects of banning local regulations, claiming it would allow homeowners to earn extra money and keep the government away from contractors. However, Ducey has said in the past that lawmakers will “see again” Short-term rental regulations.
Arizona is one of six states who have promulgated local bans on the regulation of short-term rentals. The other states are with Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Tennessee and Wisconsin.
Some Republicans on the committee said Kavanagh’s bill was bad public policy.
Representative Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, said he believed the bill “usurped” Arizonans’ property rights. And Representative Bret Roberts, R-Maricopa, feared the bill would allow cities and towns to remove short-term rentals or create inequalities in ownership.
“No matter what action we take, we will be trampling on someone’s property rights,” said Roberts.
The bill found support from city leaders, and the mayors of Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and Sedona have all told lawmakers they have seen their communities affected by short-term rentals.
Short term rentals have become a big deal in some Arizona communities. In Sedona, for example, there are more than 2,100 short-term rentals in Sedona, according to data from AirDna.co. Scottsdale has over 4,000 to rent.
But short-term rental operators have said the bill could negatively impact their lives.
“These are the very few,” Bryan Hastings said of the bad guys in the industry. Hastings’ son was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and he said without the income from a short-term rental his wife would not have been able to find another job to help support his family .
Linda Curry from Mesa shared similar stories from other short term rental hosts, saying many are teachers supplementing their income and whoever she spoke to quit her job so she could spend more time with her. her mother sick during the COVID-19 crisis.
Curry said she was concerned that zoning restrictions cities might pass would prevent small, short-term rental owners like her and others from operating, leaving only the larger ones to thrive.
But Roxanna Pitones, a lobbyist for the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, disagreed and said the bill was aimed at keeping ‘mom and pop’ places afloat and limiting occupancy levels. at appropriate levels.
The bill was adopted by 8 votes to 5 and then goes on to be considered by the entire House of Representatives.
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