🎯 STRisker: Bulletin - Las Vegas, NV
Las Vegas STRs Caught Between Casinos and Red Tape - Too Many Rules, Too Few Licenses
A Deep Dive into Your Area’s STR Updates — Helping You Navigate the Ever-Changing Rental Landscape.
Las Vegas STRs Caught Between Casinos and Red Tape
Las Vegas may be the entertainment capital of the world, but when it comes to short-term rentals (STRs), it’s also home to one of the most tangled webs of red tape in the country. Despite more than 13,000 STR listings active in the Las Vegas area, only about 7% are actually licensed, according to AirDNA and advocates at the Greater Las Vegas STR Association.
That’s a shocking gap—and it’s no accident. Jackie Flores, who heads the association, says the system is built to fail small property owners. While Nevada passed a law in 2021 requiring local governments to regulate STRs, Clark County—home to the Strip—followed with ultra-strict rules. Their 2022 ordinance caps STR licenses at just 1% of the total housing stock, bans rentals near casinos, and mandates a 1,000-foot buffer between properties.
It’s no wonder the approval numbers are bleak. Out of more than 800 applications submitted in Clark County, only 174 licenses have been greenlit. Around 150 were denied, and over 500 are still stuck in bureaucratic limbo. And here’s the kicker: Clark County isn’t even accepting new applications right now.
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Flores and her group aren’t taking it lying down—they filed a federal lawsuit at the end of June, arguing that these tight restrictions violate both property and constitutional rights. “We get that cities need regulation,” Flores said, “but not at the cost of our rights.”
The real twist? Despite hotel industry pushback, many STR renters are still pumping money into Vegas' traditional tourism economy—hitting the Strip for food, shows, and casino nights. STRs, Flores argues, just offer visitors a more affordable, flexible base camp, whether they're traveling with family, working short-term jobs, or recovering from surgery.
Other nearby cities like Henderson and North Las Vegas have their own rules and slightly more accessible pathways to STR licenses, but the patchwork of policies across Southern Nevada still confuses and deters would-be hosts.
The bottom line: There’s demand, there’s inventory, but there’s also a system designed to exclude. As Flores puts it, Las Vegas needs to ditch the lottery vibes and build a licensing process that gives STR operators a fair shot at doing things right.
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