Update: The hearing in the House Land, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs (LARA) Committee that was on February 14, 2022, passed 10-1 in favor of House Bill 2711. Keep a lookout for future updates on this bill by bookmarking our site and checking back tomorrow.
House Bill 2711 (HB2711), is a bill that was originally introduced by Representative Becky Nutt, (R) and passed the Arizona House of Representatives in 2021. The bill proposes to imposed restrictions on short-term rentals with cities and towns that have a population of fewer than 17,000 people.
Today a new amendment is trying to sneak through that you need to be aware of.
Sponsored by Representative Brenda Barton (R), a new amendment is scheduled for a hearing in the House Land, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs (LARA) Committee Monday, Feb. 14, 2022, at 2 p.m. This bill will provide more authority for small, rural communities to regulate short-term rentals.
What the bill says:
HB 2711 allows a city or town with a population of less than 17,000:
- To require a short-term rental owner to maintain a permit or license issued by the city or town.
- To limit the number of short-term rentals based on a percentage of total residentially zoned buildings or structures in the city/town (no specific percentage referenced).
- Regulate short-term rentals in the same manner as transient lodging activities for public health and safety, not through taxes.
Currently, the bill that already passed includes:
- Requires homeowners to obtain a short-term lodging license.
- To require that all monies collected from permitting, licensing, and fees go exclusively to the city or town to offset administrative costs associated with regulating short-term rentals.
- Requires that a local emergency contact is on file.
- Restricts short-term rentals from conducting any type of commercial business such as weddings and events.
What it means for cities that support short-term rentals:
The bill could greatly affect tourism communities where homeowners rent out their homes on a weekly basis during high seasons, like music festivals, film festivals, mountain bike events, skiing and snowboarding events, etc.
In Arizona, communities like Sedona, Flagstaff, Prescott Valley, and Payson would be affected the most.
Regardless of where you stand with vacation rentals, blanket legislation changes like this are NOT the way to solve the problem.
A better solution may be to follow the highly successful In Deed law that Vail, Colorado has been implementing for some time now.
The Vail InDEED was, “created to incentivize homeowners and real estate buyers/sellers to deed restrict their property to help the Town meet the 2027 Housing Strategic Plan goal of acquiring an additional 1,000 deed-restricted units by the year 2027 and helps to reach the goal of maintaining and sustaining homes for residents within the community.”
The property must be occupied as a primary residence by individuals who work a minimum of 30 hours per week in Eagle County.
Modeling the Vail InDeed program would be a much better solution to actually create quantifiable solutions and incentives for homeowners and investors to purchase property for local workers and families.
How you can help:
1.) Don’t react emotionally and rant about how big of a problem short-term rentals are. Take time to learn more about the Vail InDeed program and how it works. Speak with a local realtor, investor, or property manager to hear both sides of the story.
2.) Do something about it! If you are for or against it then participate in your local meetings discussing how to solve these issues. Speak with your local legislators and be intentional about who you vote for.
3.) Share this article and ask your network what they think. Get a conversation going
4.) Contact your local legislators!
If you are planning to buy an investment property someday or already own one, you can contact your local representative in Arizona and let them know how the bill would affect you and your business.
You can email Representative Barton and also reach out to all members of the House LARA Committee:
- Chairman Tim Dunn tdunn@azleg.gov (602) 926-4139
- Vice-Chairman Joel John jjohn@azleg.gov (602) 926-3276
- Rep. Brenda Barton bbarton@azleg.gov (602) 926-3421
- Rep. David Cook dcook@azleg.gov (602) 926-5162
- Rep. Lupe Diaz ldiaz@azleg.gov (602) 926-4852
- Rep. Gail Griffin ggriffin@azleg.gov (602) 926-5895
- Rep. Jasmine Blackwater-Nygren jblackwater-nygren@azleg.gov (602) 926-3069
- Rep. Andrew Dalessandro adalessandro@azleg.gov (602) 926-5342
- Rep. Mitzi Epstein mepstein@azleg.gov (602) 926-4870
- Rep. Brian Fernandez bfernandez@azleg.gov (602) 926-3098
- Rep. Lorenzo Sierra lsierra@azleg.gov (602) 926-3211
Tell them about Vail’s InDEED program and let them know you oppose blanket legislation like today’s HB 2711 and its amendments. Let’s work together to ensure fair laws for small towns and big cities alike.
This is important to ALL Arizona residents, no matter where you live!