Bill would remove restrictions on short-term rentals
A bill removing city-imposed restrictions on homeowners who temporarily rent their houses to others is pending before the state Senate’s City, County and Local Affairs Committee.
Senate Bill 197 by Sen. Joshua Bryant, R-Rogers, states: “A local government shall not enact or enforce an ordinance, resolution, rule, or other requirement of any type that prohibits or limits the use of a property as a short-term rental unit.”
The House sponsor of the bill is Rep. Brit McKenzie, R-Rogers, who said in a telephone interview on Wednesday, Feb. 8, the bill is both a fundamental defense of private property rights and the direct result of requests made to him by citizens while he campaigned for the District 7 House seat.
“Short-term rentals are a way for your neighbor, your auntie or your cousin to generate some income,” McKenzie said. “I’m proud of this bill.”
The issue is of particular interest in his district, he said. The district almost surrounds Beaver Lake.
“A lot of reverse-snowbirds live there, people who live there in the winter because they like the peace and quiet and the natural surroundings but who rent those homes out in the spring and summer,” he said.
Also, northwest Arkansas is a growing tourist destination, particularly by those riding bicycles on the region’s nature trail network.
“People who come here with a $10,000 bike want to lock it in a garage at night,” he said.
The Fayetteville City Council passed an ordinance regulating short-term rentals in April 2021. The measure requires owners of property accepting short-term
rentals to acquire a business license, allow a building safety inspection and, in some cases, get a conditional use permit from the city’s Planning Commission.
Fayetteville city code describes short-term rentals as properties rented out to tenants for fewer than 30 days.
Bella Vista also passed an ordinance requiring rental owners to apply for permits. The Bella Vista ordinance is due to take effect Feb. 27.
Supporters of the ordinances argued for passage by saying the city needs to maintain the residential quality of neighborhoods, that short-term renters could create traffic and noise problems. A large number of renters in one house could, for instance, also overload septic systems in Bella Vista, supporters argued.
“Property rights extend to your neighbors, too,” said Susan Norton, chief of staff for the city of Fayetteville. People who bought homes in residential neighborhoods moved there with the expectation of living in a quiet neighborhood with private homes, she said.
Cities have plenty of power to allay nuisances, McKenzie said.
“That’s what trash, noise and wastewater ordinances are for,” he said.
Property rights are not the only principle at stake, said Mayor Greg Hines of Rogers. Local control is a principle, too, he said.
“My concern is with continued interference with local control by a centralized group of legislators,” Hines said. The trend of lawmakers making blanket rules affecting local governments throughout the states is already a serious problem and it is getting worse, Hines said.
“If 135 people in Little Rock can manage all this then let’s just abolish cities,” he said.
Northwest Arkansas has one of the tightest home-buyer’s markets in the United States, Hines said. Home prices are rising rapidly here. A contributing factor is the purchasing of residential homes by businesses for the purpose of renting them out as short-term rentals. Every time a home is bought by a business for such a use, he said, the housing market tightens.
The Arkansas Municipal League, a lobby representing the state’s cities, is confident an acceptable compromise can be worked out on the bill, said league general counsel John Wilkerson in a telephone interview Friday, Feb. 10.