Nashville’s short-term rental properties — like Airbnbs and VRBOs — could be dramatically limited by the latest regulations proposed this week by members of the Metro Council.
In all, the council is now looking at six bills, some with multiple prongs. The net effect would be to make it harder for property owners to rent out rooms or whole homes — and to add consequences when guests disturb neighbors.
What follows is a shorthand guide to the measures.
Bill 381: Rules and Complaints
The
most detailed bill would update the city’s short-term rental rules in several ways, including how operators notify neighbors of their permit, what parking must be provided, how permits are renewed each year and what happens when the city receives complaints about guests.
This bill includes a three strikes rule in which properties that generate three bona fide complaints to police, Metro Codes or Metro Public Works could lose the right to rent short term.
Even proponents of short-term rentals have questioned whether Metro polices them adequately. Metro Codes told WPLN
that about two dozen property owners have been denied permits or faced permit revocation proceedings since the start of 2016.
That includes three properties seeking permits on Thursday at the Board of Zoning Appeals. One of them (pictured above) had its permit revoked. The other two were caught operating without a city license and are now seeking one.
Bill 257: ‘Stop Work’
This proposal had been deferred but is now back on the agenda.
It includes
a three-year ban on owners who are caught without a short-term rental permit.
Bill 382: Tighter Caps
The bill that could have the biggest impact the number of rentals would do so by
cutting down on properties in which the owner doesn’t live on site — sometimes called “investor-owned properties.” Metro officials told WPLN that, anecdotally, about 90 percent of complaints about vacation rentals are at properties like this.
Right now, the city limits them by census tract, but the council might enact an even tighter cap. The current cap is facing
a legal challenge.
Bills 373, 374, 375: Finding Scofflaws
These bills would require owners of short-term rental properties to include their city-issued permit numbers in their online listings, which would allow inspectors to see which ones have not filed for a city license. And to attest that they’ve followed the rules of their neighborhood associations.
Bill 375, which short-term rental owners sharply oppose, raises a broader question about how many non-family members can occupy a residence. Councilman Bob Mendes has
said Metro currently has two occupancy standards that cause confusion.
The half dozen short-term rental proposals are at different stages with the council, but all are on the agenda for Tuesday night.
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