Short Term Rentals

From issues to regulations: Follow the story and learn more about short term rentals in New Orleans.



Short Term Rentals in New Orleans

Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center Links:

Airbnb Listings in New Orleans - Short Term Rentals

Short term rentals have been a controversial issue in cities all across America, New Orleans included.

Short term rentals are considered to be any rental less than 30 days.

The New Orleans City Planning Commission (CPC) conducted a Short Term Rental Study to make informed recommendations to City Council in January of 2016.

With the growth of the sharing economy and the increased popularity of websites like Airbnb, VRBO, and FlipKey, short term rentals have proliferated in the City of New Orleans despite being prohibited in most zoning categories. While there is no official count, there are likely between 2,400 and 4,000 listings in New Orleans. The vast majority of these short term rentals operate without the proper approvals.- CPC Short Term Rental Study

The study considered amendments to the short-term rental definition, limitations on the size of short-term rentals, which districts short-term rentals should be prohibited, conditional use, or permitted use, supplemental use standards, temporary use standards, national best practices, and consider changes to bed-and-breakfast regulations.

Since January, City Planning staff, the City Planning Commission, the administration, and the City Council have been debating whether to permit, in residential areas, the short-term rental of whole houses not occupied by their owners. The alternative is to limit STRs to residences that qualify for a homestead exemption.

The nine-member advisory City Planning Commission has expressed steadfast opposition to the conversion of entire houses into STRs. In doing so it has been in step with prevailing public opinion, but at odds with recommendations put forth by the City Planning staff, the Landrieu administration and now the City Council. Check out the latest at our Updates and Resources tabs.

 

View presentations from our November 2015 forum Short Term Rentals: What Works for New Orleans below and on our Updates tab.

UNO MURP Candidate, Katy Sullivan  Examining Existing Policy Approaches

Researcher and planner, Jeffrey Goodman Short Term Rentals: Balancing Opportunities and Challenges

City planner Phillip Supino (Durango, CO) Preserving Housing Through Short Term Rental Regulation

Monisha Merchant Airbnb Community Compact

Dr. Marla Nelson was moderator.

 

The Urban Conservancy hosted this forum on November 17, 2015 in hopes of starting a more balanced dialogue around this contentious issue. 

Update 11

Nov 2023

The city of New Orleans is currently in a legal battle with STR companies like Airbnb and Vrbo. Amidst the legal battle, many of the city’s STR operators are taking the opportunity to continue operating illegally. 

The Times Picayune reported that there were 5,710 listings on STR platforms last week, while there are only 1,260 permits in circulation.

It is not clear when city enforcement officials will receive the ‘court order’ that would allow them to begin cracking down on illegal STRs.

Read the full story at Gambit.

Update 10

Aug 2023

On Monday, New Orleans City Council held a lottery to determine which 229 of the 532 short-term rental owners would be able to legally continue operating their short-term rentals on blocks where more than one application was submitted.

Property owners submitted 1960 total applications for residential short-term rental licenses during the two-week application period, and from those applications, 532 were on contested blocks, per the new city ordinance which aims to limit short-term rental density to one per square block.

Read the full story on nola.com here.

Update 9

Mar 2023

Clock is ticking…

A special council meeting on Mar 14 gave proponents and opponents of proposed changes to STR regulations a chance to make public comments before the final vote scheduled for Thursday, March 23.

Update 8

Mar 2023

March 20, 2023:

Currently, the Council is considering a density cap of one STR per square block, meaning only one permit will be issued within a block (typically) bounded by four streets. The City Council will hear public comments and vote on the density cap Thursday, March 23, at 11:00 am. Residents can make comments at the meeting or submit comments to council members in advance of the meeting: 

How we got here: When a federal court ruled that a New Orleans law restricting licenses for short-term Airbnb-style rentals to city residents unconstitutionally blocks out-of-state property owners from the vacation rental market last August, the City Council was mandated to come up with an alternative by the end of March 2023.  You can read more about that here.

For a more in-depth look at the legislation, all of the rules are laid out in two ordinances:
Ordinance 34,082 will amend the existing STR application, permitting, enforcement, penalties, and operating regulations in the City code.
Ordinance 34,083 will amend the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance to modify the Residential STR regulations to bring them into compliance with the decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which determined the homestead exemption requirement to be unconstitutional.

Read the UC’s letter to councilmembers, including survey results and comments, here.

Update 7

Mar 2023

3/9/2023

In a special meeting on Thursday, New Orleans City Council advanced a measure to limit short-term rentals to one STR per square block.

This would provide more restrictive regulations for STRs in the city than exist currently, as the previous recommendation was one STR per block face, or one STR per side of each square block.

Read the full story here.

3/9/2023

The New Orleans City Council on Thursday took another step to rein in short-term rental permits in commercial areas, passing a temporary ban along some busy corridors abutting residential neighborhoods.”

Read the full article by Ben Myers here.

Update 6

Nov 2019

Our Executive Director, Dana Eness, writes about how the decision to cut the short-term enforcement budget wreaks havoc, once again, on the public’s trust in local government.

This message was spray-painted in 2018 by the former tenant of this house in Central City. (Photo courtesy of April Leigh.)

Update 5

Dec 2016

The City of New Orleans’ Short Term Rental Administration page is now live, with important links and info.  Go to our Short Term Rental “Resources” page for help navigating it.

Update 4

Oct 2016

“But efficient enforcement is a moot point if the amendments … make affordable housing even more unattainable for the very people who keep this city alive.”  Read this op-ed by UC’s executive director, Dana Eness, published in The Lens on October 25, 2016.

 

Update 3

Oct 2016

Administration Amendments on STRs Pass 6-1

The Landrieu administration’s short term rental amendments passed 6-1 (with Councilmember Brossett as the single “no” vote) on October 20, with loopholes big enough you could drive a whole-house rental through. Several, actually. Read the Amendments and Council President Head’s “Response to the Oct 20, 2016 City Council vote on Short Term Rentals”.

Update 2

Apr 2016

Screen Shot 2016-04-13 at 1.33.11 PM

STRs: Make your voice heard!

The Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center has made it easy to Take Action! Email council members to demand strict enforcement and STR density limitations here.

Also, please share your opinions on this brief updated UC Survey, Short-Term Rentals: What Works for New Orleans.

The City’s Short Term Rental page is now live

The Short Term Rental Administration page is now up on the City’s website where you can find all the rules and regulations, a registry of approved short term rentals, and other useful information.

Are you curious about permitted uses for a particular address?  Simply plug in the street address using the “Search” tool (the little magnifying glass in the upper right corner) on the Property Viewer page.  Under “Zoning” at the bottom of the map, look at the “Zoning District.”

Refer to the one-pager titled “Where are Short Term Rentals allowed? “ to see what sorts of STRs are allowed within that particular zoning district.

View the city’s presentation on Short-Term Rental Licensing for more information.

Short Term Rental City Council Vote 10/20/16 and Responses

The original Zoning Docket 61-16.  See amendments to these CPC recommendations below.

Landrieu administration’s STR Amendments to Zoning Docket 61-16 that were adopted and passed 6-1 on October 20.  Councilmember Brossett was the dissenting vote. The first sixteen pages are the amendments that were  submitted from the administration followed by one from Councilmembers Head and Williams and another by Councilmember Guidry.

Response to the Oct 20, 2016 City Council vote on Short Term Rentals from Council President Head.

Short-term rental vote deals a blow to neighborhoods– and citizen engagement. Op-ed by UC ED Dana Eness published 10/25/16 in The Lens.

“Short-Term Rentals: City Council takes a step in the wrong direction”: A summary by VCPORA of ramifications for our commercial and residential districts.

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