LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The fate of short-term rental regulations in the valley could soon be decided by the Nevada Supreme Court.
On Thursday, the Greater Las Vegas Short-Term Rental Association announced they would be filing an appeal. The group added that last month, Judge Jessica Peterson declared some parts of the ordinance were unconstitutionally vague or overbroad and that county commissioners didn't pause the licensing to fix those regulations.
Some of the ordinances Peterson cited in her ruling included allowing Clark County officials to enter short-term rentals at any time with or without notice to inspect properties. Peterson said that there are no standards or objective criteria for those searches.
Another example is prohibiting parties, weddings, and other events. The ordinance would ban them if they exceed the maximum occupancy of the residential unit. In her ruling, Peterson said what qualifies as a party or wedding is vague and ambiguous and that these gatherings can also include religious activities which are protected by the Constitution.
The short-term rental pre-application process began back in September. That process closed on Monday.
According to the Clark County website, no fees were collected during this phase. The county said identification numbers will be entered in a random number generator process to determine the order or priority in which applications will be processed.
Channel 13 reached out to Clark County about this appeal and how many people have applied to the short-term rental licenses and received the following statement.
"Clark County continues to move forward with our process to issue short-term rental licenses and the random number draw will occur on March 29. Clark County has notified applicants that we will not be enforcing the "under perjury of law" language in the pre-application, reflective of the Court's Order. Regarding other provisions in the Order, Clark County is working through possible solutions, including additional legal action. We are unable to comment further on pending litigation."
There is no timeline on if or when the Supreme Court could take up the matter.
As for the licensing process, Phase II of the pre-application selection process is scheduled to start next month. Selected applications will be given 30 days to fill out additional paperwork. The county said the submission process doesn't guarantee you will get a license.
Officials add there will be several non-refundable fees during this phase including a $45 application fee and $150 inspection fee. If the license is approved, there will also be an annual fee of $750 for properties that have up to three bedrooms and $1,500 for properties that have more than three bedrooms.
