Las Vegas short-term rentals backlog exceeds 600 applications; hundreds renting illegally

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – More than 10,000 homes in Las Vegas are listed as short-term rentals however only a small portion are licensed.

It comes as Clark County faces a backlog of more than 600 applications with only 88 approved so far.

While the county works to catch up, some are resorting to listing illegally with more than 500 citations issued for illegal short-term rentals so far in 2024.

Property owners like Louis Koorndyk were one of the lucky ones to make it through the application process. He wanted to rent out his two properties to pay for his parents assisted living. He didn’t get his application approved until after they passed away.

“I used my greatest investment my properties to take care of my parents and give them top care and I wasn’t allowed to do it,” he explained. “It was a rough process.”

The process can be cumbersome and time-consuming.

“The process was a pre-application, and then after the pre-application, they have a lottery and then after that lottery then they had an actual application process which was similar to the pre-application process, and then all that was submitted,” Jackie Flores of the Greater Las Vegas Short-Term Rental Association said.

Some neighborhood associations argue that short-term rentals disturb the community. There’s also a concern about big corporations buying up property just to rent them out.

However, Koorndyk said many homeowners are just trying to keep up with their bills and offer alternatives to travelers. He said his biggest problem tenants have come from long-term renters staying a year or more.

“When you rent the property for a short-term basis and you break our rules you simply contact the platform and they cancel the reservation and they have to go,” he said.

The Greater Las Vegas Short-Term Rental Association wants to see jurisdictions expedite the process and make it as easy as getting a driver’s license.

The application process closed last August for short-term rentals in Clark County. Each jurisdiction has its own process and license requirements. Some of that requires fees and inspections before an application can be approved.

No timeline has been given for when Clark County will reopen the application process for short-term rentals or how long until the backlog is cleared.

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