Airbnb, GLVSTRA, and Short-Term Rental Operators Fight Clark County

Clark County has a controversial rule that requires a minimum 1,000-foot distance between licensed rental properties. This means securing a license here is tough, leaving hundreds of would-be operators like Sam and Lisa Hankins in limbo. 

The spouses, who decided to join forces with Airbnb and the Greater Las Vegas Short-Term Rental Association (GLVSTRA), have been challenging the regulations in federal court.

“Cumbersome” Requirements 

“We went through all of the steps to go through the application process, and it was quite arduous and complicated,” Lisa Hankins told Las Vegas Weekly. “But we were ultimately denied because of our proximity to somebody who already had one in our neighborhood.”

That denial is just one part of a three-year legal battle that argues Clark County’s framework, including strict caps on licenses, hefty fines, and even a lottery system, violates constitutional rights.

Since opening applications in 2022, the county has moved particularly slowly, only granting 194 licenses out of more than 1,300 submissions, with just six issued since May. GLVSTRA founder Jackie Flores believes that it is no accident.

“On the surface, it looked like they were doing it, but once you got into the details of the ordinance, they made the requirements so cumbersome that it’s nearly impossible for anyone to qualify,” Flores said.

Advocates argue that the restrictions serve the powerful resort industry more than local homeowners. They estimate that as many as 10,000 unlicensed rentals now exist across the valley, while enforcement teams have handed out nearly 2,000 citations in the past year.

The Battle, “Far From Over”

The fight has produced small victories, including an August ruling in favor of an 84-year-old homeowner who was denied a license because her property used a septic tank. However, for families like the Hankinses, the core issues remain.

GLVSTRA and Airbnb also obtained a victory in federal court after a judge blocked Clark County from forcing platforms to drop unlicensed listings by September 1.

“While today’s decision is a win, the fight against Clark County’s short-term rental restriction is far from over,” an Airbnb spokesperson said.

For the Hankins family, the bigger issue is the federal lawsuit. They say their license was denied because of a neighbor who isn’t even renting.

“If you strategically find people who have a license but aren’t operating … you effectively eliminate anybody else within a 1,000-foot radius,” Lisa said.

Stuck renting long-term, the couple says they’re losing money each month. “Ideally, I’d just like [Clark County] to start over with the rules, because they were flawed from the very beginning,” Sam explained.