Clark County’s Short-Term Rental Program Moving Slowly with 174 Permits Granted

Clark County's short-term rental licensing process continues to unfold nearly three years after Assembly Bill 363 was enacted, with residents still awaiting clarity and resolution. As of Tuesday, the county has issued almost 200 licenses and denied close to 150, with 515 applications still pending.

"It's so bittersweet because I know there's so many people still waiting, and they have no idea how long they're going to be waiting either. I waited a very long time," said sixth-grade teacher Gore, who waited 17 months for her license. She said she was relieved to have a way to supplement her income in Las Vegas' tough housing market.

The licensing process started in September 2022, and a random lottery in March 2023 named 1,306 owners for consideration. Clark County caps short-term rental licenses at 1% of housing units, and the cap for 2024 is 2,940. Despite a slow rollout — only six licenses are processed each week — officials remain committed to managing the program responsibly.

Commissioner Justin Jones has criticized rental platforms for not sharing sufficient data to support enforcement. He suggests that these platforms be required to obtain licenses themselves by Sept. 1. Meanwhile, the county's Short-Term Rental Education Enforcement Team (STREET) has investigated over 5,000 illegal listings since 2018, resolving 93% without issuing fines. Chief of Code Enforcement Jim Andersen emphasized the team's success in addressing community concerns through collaboration.

To improve efficiency, the STREET team is now working with a third-party vendor to identify unlicensed rentals by monitoring online platforms. Additionally, revisions to the ordinance are being considered to streamline the process, such as allowing wastewater system connections to occur during licensing rather than at the initial application stage.
Vincent Queano of the Business License Department estimates processing all outstanding applications could take another 18 months.