Clark County approves new short-term rental licensing process

Clark County Commissioners unanimously approved changes to speed up the licensing process for short-term rentals this week following a recent federal court order calling for the county to set up its regulatory system.

Deputy District Attorney Jeff Rogan told commissioners at the Tuesday meeting that the process will now allow for year-round applications and require response times from the county and applicants. The ordinance also sets rules for appeals.

Rogan contended the new process does not change any other underlying rules, such as 1,000 feet between rentals; 2,500 feet from resort hotels; no septic; no short-term rentals in rural townships; occupancy, minimum stay and party bans; among other operating standards.

Assembly Bill 363, requiring the county and other cities in the Las Vegas Valley to regulate short-term rentals, passed during the 2021 legislative session. The county passed its short-term rental ordinance in 2022 and opened the application process. It only applies to properties in unincorporated Clark County; rentals within other cities are subject to their ordinances.

According to Rogan, when the application window opened in 2022 it received 1,306 applications “at one time.” The county closed the window the following year because of the massive influx, he said, and it never reopened.

Rogan said the “fundamental issue with the pace of approvals and denials” was due to the 1,000-foot buffer between properties required by the county.

“(There were groups) of applications that are so close to one another that one can’t be approved without denying a number of others,” said Rogan.

New process

Applicants will now be required to submit a completed application and $45 fee by appointment, after which the county will review eligibility, conduct a fire inspection and issue a written approval or denial within 45 business days, excluding certain pauses. Approved applicants would then pay the required licensing fees before receiving their short-term rental license.

Applicants have a 14-day deadline to respond to any questions regarding their application. The 45-day deadline will be paused during any response windows. If denied, applicants have 30 days to appeal.

If multiple homeowners within 1,000 feet apply for short-term rental licenses, it will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Scheduling opens on Dec. 15 and the first appointments are at 8 a.m. Jan. 5.

The new approval process stems from a lawsuit that was filed against Clark County in July 2025 from the Greater Las Vegas Short-Term Rental Association and Airbnb. The two challenged the county’s rules in court last year, alleging that the government did not provide the proper means to apply for licensing, leading to fines and liens against some of the properties.

U.S. District Judge Miranda Du granted a preliminary injunction on some of the regulations in December. The county appealed the order.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in October ordered a Nevada judge to narrow the injunction to help Clark County “stand up a functioning license regime,” which has been closed for much longer than the injunction has been in place.

Despite the new approval process, President and founder of GLVSTRA Jacqueline Flores called the new changes “lipstick on a pig,” saying she will continue to fight in court.

“The federal court has referred to this as the County’s ‘badly mismanaged’ licensing process that violates Las Vegas homeowners’ protected property interest in leasing their homes on a short-term basis under the Nevada and U.S. Constitutions,” Flores said in a statement.

Airbnb did not get back for immediate comment.

Contact Emerson Drewes at [email protected]. Follow @EmersonDrewes on X.