Clark County, Nevada, passes new short-term rental rules to comply with state law

Clark County has approved an ordinance that allows short-term rentals. Hosts must register with the city, collect lodging taxes from guests, and follow other rules.

State legislation, passed last year, requires Clark County, along with the cities of Las Vegas, Henderson, and North Las Vegas, to regulate vacation rentals. The new state law went into effect July 1, 2022. Previously, short-term rentals were banned in unincorporated areas of the county. Las Vegas, Henderson, and North Las Vegas already had vacation rental rules in place, so they did not have to pass new regulations to comply with the state law.

Under the new Clark County measure, operators must:

• Hold a state business license
• Apply for a local short-term rental license and pay annual fees of $750 for three or fewer bedrooms, and $1,500 for more than three bedrooms, plus a $150 fee for a required safety inspection
• Designate a local representative for the rental who is available 24 hours a day/seven days a week and can respond to any issues within 30 minutes
• Maintain liability coverage
• Collect transient lodging taxes from guests and file transient lodging tax returns with the county
• Install noise-monitoring devices at the property lines of their front and back yards, as well as around outdoor pools and spas

Between approximately September 1, 2022, and March 1, 2023, prospective hosts may apply to be included in a license lottery. Those chosen by the lottery may go on to apply for a county short-term rental license.

Other county rules include:

• Vacation rental licenses are limited to 1% of housing stock
• Operators may hold no more than one license per person
• No more than two guests per bedroom are allowed to stay in a short-term rental property, with a limit of 10 people total
• Guests must stay a minimum of two nights for every reservation
• Short-term rental properties must be located at least 1,000 feet away from each other and at least 2,500 feet from a resort casino
• Vacation rentals within a multifamily dwelling are limited to no more than 10% of units, but are prohibited in apartment buildings
• Short-term rentals are prohibited in Bunkerville Township, Mesquite Township, Moapa Township, Moapa Valley Township, and Mt. Charleston
• Short-term rentals are not allowed in communities with homeowners associations unless the association expressly allows them
• Licensed short-term rental operators who violate the law may be fined up to $1,000, while unlicensed vacation rentals may be subject to a fine of up to $10,000

The county has also spelled out laws for “accommodations facilitators,” including short-term rental marketplaces such as Airbnb and Vrbo. Accommodations facilitators are required to verify short-term rental property licenses before listing, and to remove properties if requested by the county. They’re also responsible for collecting short-term rental taxes from guests and submitting monthly reports offering data on their bookings. Currently, neither Airbnb nor Vrbo collect lodging taxes on behalf of hosts in Clark County.

MyLodgeTax can help short-term rental hosts automate lodging tax to streamline and simplify their lodging tax compliance. For more information on short-term rental taxes, see our Nevada Vacation Rental Tax Guide. If you have tax questions related to vacation rental properties, drop us a line and we’ll get back to you with answers.