A U.S. District Court judge is weighing whether to limit Clark County’s enforcement of its short-term rental ordinance after hearing testimony from attorneys representing property owners who use platforms like Airbnb. Judge Miranda Du said she would issue a decision in the coming days.
In the same hearing, Judge Du denied Clark County’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the Greater Las Vegas Short-Term Rental Association and 15 individual plaintiffs, including Airbnb, representing 856 homeowners. However, she did grant a motion preventing the association from seeking damages against the state.
The lawsuit, filed in June, alleges that Clark County failed to provide a reasonable process for obtaining rental licenses, penalizing residents with fines and liens for attempting to rent out their properties. The 20-count complaint accuses the county of violating several constitutional amendments, including the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth.
Mark Hutchison, lead attorney for the association, expressed optimism after the hearing, stating the judge appeared to understand the arguments and the “irreparable harm” caused to property owners.
Since the county passed its short-term rental ordinance in 2022—after previously barring all short-term rentals—the association argues that licensing remains inaccessible and the rules are overly restrictive, diverging from the intent of a 2021 state law permitting the business model. The ordinance caps licenses at 1 percent of the county’s housing stock and imposes minimum separation requirements between rentals and resorts. An initial license lottery was held over two years ago, and the process has not reopened since.
So far, Clark County has issued only 174 licenses for roughly 300,000 homes within its jurisdiction. The county claims it is processing applications as quickly as possible with limited resources.
The ordinance allows the county to issue fines of $500 for the first violation and $1,000 for subsequent offenses. If fines are unpaid after 50 days, liens can be placed on properties, which may turn into tax liens and potentially lead to foreclosure.
Judge Du previously issued a preliminary injunction based on federal law granting limited immunity to online platforms but allowed the county to enforce its rules against unlicensed rentals.
Judge Du also instructed attorneys from both sides to arrange a schedule for discovery within 10 days to expedite the case.