This year has been an eventful one for short-term rentals around the world: The boom-bust saga and seeming unending fights about new regulations.
06.12.2023 - 04:28 / skift.com / Srividya Kalyanaraman
Regulators have been going after short-term rentals. Now homeowners are fighting back.
A group of 89 property owners in Summit County, Colorado filed a federal lawsuit, alleging that strict restrictions on short-term rentals infringe upon their constitutional rights and jeopardize their livelihoods. The homeowners in Summit County Resort Homes argue that the new regulations create disparities between “short-term rental haves and have-nots,” meaning those who rely on income from short-term rentals and homeowners who don’t. They allege that the regulations reflect the county’s unwarranted bias against such rentals. They claim that these restrictions violate their fundamental rights to property ownership and rental.
County commissioners were informed about the possibility of litigation in April, and the county attorney expressed confidence in successfully defending against any legal challenges. Summit County had implemented changes, including transitioning from short-term rental permits to licenses, and imposing caps on non-resident licenses and the number of yearly bookings.
This is not a lone instance.
Earlier this month, approximately 300 property owners in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida were preparing to file a lawsuit against the mayor and city attorney later this week. Short-term rental property owners in the city feel a new ordinance — which restricts the number of guests to 12, limits occupancy to two people per bedroom, and requires short-term rentals to meet state building codes for new construction — goes too far.
And the short-term rental association in Dallas, Dallas STRA, is raising money to be able to pursue a case at the district court level. Fort Worth short-term rental owners are also working on a lawsuit, collecting over 100 plaintiffs.
We spoke to Tiffany Edwards, president of Coletta Consulting. Edwards has over 15 years of government and advocacy experience in both the public and private sectors, as well as the same years’ experience in vacation rental operations.
She said, “Engaging in lawsuits should always be a last result. They are extremely costly and can be dragged out for years. For example, the final decision in Austin [ which found its ordinance unconstitutional] took over five years. This extended time often enables an ordinance to remain in place and can effectively shut down a business or prevent its ability to operate.”
Additionally, Edwards argued that since in many locations judges are elected, their rulings on short-term rental laws can be extremely biased.
That being said, Edwards also acknowledged that lawsuits are often necessary. “Historically our greatest successes are when a plaintiff can argue an incorrect procedure of drafting an ordinance, a ‘takings’ [such
This year has been an eventful one for short-term rentals around the world: The boom-bust saga and seeming unending fights about new regulations.
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