Weekly Regulatory Briefing (50)

🏡Top Stories This Week

• Kansas City, MO: Kansas City has begun accepting short-term rental applications ahead of the 2026 World Cup, cutting the annual fee from $200 to $50 for hosts renting between May and July.

🌍 Regional Highlights

• New Mexico: New Mexico lawmakers are weighing whether to standardize how counties classify short-term rentals after a legislative report highlights inconsistent tax treatment across the state.

📜 New Ordinances Approved

• Maricopa County, AZ: Maricopa County has unanimously approved a major overhaul of its zoning ordinance, simplifying decades-old rules to expand housing options and modernize land-use standards.
• Fayetteville, AR: The City Council approved a new short-term rental ordinance and emergency clause in a 6–2 vote, preventing a regulatory lapse when the existing law’s sunset clause expires Dec. 30.
• Snowmass, CO: Snowmass Town Council approved new short-term rental regulations that take effect Dec. 30, including an increase in the annual STR permit fee from $300 to $400.

💬 Catch Up on Discussions

• Washington, DC: D.C. officials are reviewing rental and tenancy laws following a high-profile dispute between a short-term rental owner and an accused squatter who entered the home through Airbnb.
• Folly Beach, SC: Folly Beach City Council has unanimously advanced technical amendments to its short-term rental ordinance, refining how the island’s voter-approved cap of 800 units is enforced.
• Wellfleet, MA: Wellfleet is considering its first-ever registration and inspection program for short-term rentals, with rules that could take effect as soon as March 15.
• Hilton Head, SC: Hilton Head officials are moving forward with proposed zoning amendments for the Holiday Homes neighborhood following resident concerns about large homes becoming short-term rentals.
• Pinehurst, NC: The Pinehurst Council is preparing new outreach aimed at short-term rental owners after reviewing noise complaints that largely involve STR guests and routine neighborhood activity.
• Logan, OH: A Hocking County judge is being asked to decide whether a high-capacity short-term rental violates subdivision covenants before the case goes to trial.
• Sarasota, FL: Sarasota city commissioners are weighing whether to expand the city’s vacation rental ordinance to three downtown zoning districts after data showed most citizen complaints involve rentals outside the current program.
• Saratoga, CA: Saratoga’s Planning Commission has recommended a citywide ban on short-term rentals following overwhelming public opposition at its Dec. 10 meeting.
• New Franklin, OH: New Franklin City Council delayed action on a proposed short-term rental ordinance after members raised concerns over a $1,000 permit fee and the lack of spacing requirements between rentals.
• Oneida County, NY: Short-term rental owners in Oneida County must register their properties by Jan. 1 to continue listing them on platforms like Airbnb and TripAdvisor.
• Pullman, WA: Pullman’s Planning Commission is reopening debate on the city’s newly adopted short-term rental regulations after concerns emerged over enforcement pressure and regulatory scope.
• Harris Township, PA: Harris Township has approved a new ordinance regulating short-term rentals, including homes listed on Airbnb and Vrbo.
• Columbia, SC: The Columbia City Council took an initial step toward lifting its short-term rental moratorium by approving a first reading of zoning changes tied to where STRs can operate.
• Yates County, NY: Yates County lawmakers have voted to renew the county’s additional mortgage recording tax while opting out of a new state requirement to register short-term rentals.
• Berkeley, CA: Berkeley adopted Granicus’ Short-term Rentals (Host Compliance) platform to address housing shortages and rising short-term rental violations.
• Riverside, MO: The Riverside Board of Aldermen reviewed a proposed short-term rental ordinance that would introduce safety standards, a permitting process, and tourism tax requirements ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
• Nantucket, MA: Nantucket’s recent vote to legalize short-term rentals is facing a legal challenge from an attorney claiming the measure violates a two-year state restriction on reintroducing defeated zoning bylaws.

🌐 Global Notes

• Spain: Spain’s Ministry of Social Rights has fined Airbnb €64 million after finding more than 65,000 illegal short-term rental listings during a nationwide investigation.
• Milan, Italy: Milan will ban self-check-in key boxes for short-term rentals starting January 2026, requiring hosts to remove devices from public-facing spaces or face fines of up to €400.
• Halifax, Canada: Halifax council passed provincially mandated housing planning amendments after being warned that rejecting them would leave the province in charge through an interim order.
• Bali, Indonesia: Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism has rejected a proposal from the Bali Government to ban Airbnb, easing concerns across the tourism sector.
• Cape Town, South Africa: Experts argue that regulating Airbnb will not fix South Africa’s housing crisis, as short-term rentals make up less than 1% of Cape Town’s formal housing stock.
• Brisbane, Australia: The Short Term Accommodation Association Australia (STAAA) is urging Brisbane short-term rental hosts to attend an urgent online meeting over concerns with the city’s proposed Short Stay Accommodation Local Law.

📲 Social Buzz

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📅 Future Meetings and Public Hearings/Comments:

• Pullman, WA: While the current inspection, fee, safety, and advertising rules remain in effect, commissioners plan to continue public discussion at a Jan. 28 hearing before submitting recommendations to city council by the end of March.

🖱️ Click of the Week: See What Everyone’s Reading

Suburb Boxes Out Airbnbs Due To City Landlord’s “Party” House - New Haven Independent

A New Haven suburb effectively banned Airbnb-type rentals this week, after neighbors complained that guests were turning a luxurious house owned by a New Haven-based investor into “party central.”

New Haven IndependentMona Mahadevan

Suburb Boxes Out Airbnbs Due To City Landlord’s “Party” House

A New Haven suburb, Orange, approved a zoning change that effectively bans short-term rentals under 30 days in residential areas after complaints that a single Airbnb had become a disruptive party house.

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