What to know about Louisville's proposed Airbnb rules

Louisville's proposed short-term rental changes, expected to come up for a vote Thursday, are an attempt to have a "system that works," author Councilman Brandon Coan says.

For months, he and other city leaders have pushed for stronger enforcement and more effective regulation of illegal operators of Airbnbs or other short-term rentals.

The proposal makes a series of tweaks to existing rules, after going to the planning commission for recommendations and a series of hearings. 

"The idea is to create a regulatory scheme that balances all the advantages that short-term rentals bring to a community — supporting tourism, encouraging entrepreneurship — but balancing it with protections for neighborhoods and also holding stakeholders accountable," Coan previously told the Courier Journal.

Among the changes it would make: giving the city's planning director greater discretion in punishing repeat offenders, calling on home-sharing platforms to crack down on advertisers that don't follow rules and creating a location restriction for new, non-owner occupied properties in residential areas. 

Here's what to know about short-term rentals in Louisville and the current proposal: 

How many short-term rentals are in Louisville?

There were 507 short-term rentals registered with the city's Planning & Design Services, as of last Friday. 

That's just a fraction of the ones advertising on Airbnb, though, which shows more than 2,000 listings on its website. 

How does the proposal change the advertising process?

Coan's proposal would address the gap between registered properties and those advertised online by requiring hosts to include their Louisville Metro-issued registration number in any advertisements posted on home-sharing platforms like Airbnb. 

And, the city could request those online platforms remove listings or advertisements with registration numbers that are invalid, expired or that have been revoked.

A host or property owner that advertises an unregistered rental would be subject to penalties. A first offense would merit a warning, and any additional offenses would be subject to a civil penalty of $125.

The proposal also allows the director to request housing platforms provide monthly information on the number of short-term rentals in Louisville Metro listed on the platform and the number of nights all short-term rentals were rented through the platform.

How does it strengthen enforcement?

Under the proposal, the city's planning director can revoke a short-term rental registration if the property is subject to two or more substantiated civil and/or criminal complaints in one year. 

(Civil complaints include: reported violations of building, safety and property maintenance; nuisance; health and sanitation; fire; electrical; plumbing; and mechanical code violations. Criminal complaints include: reported drug activity, theft and criminal mischief.)

An active registration is required to rent a property.

When an owner or host has a registration revoked, according to the proposal, they become ineligible to receive any new registrations for one year.

The director can also refuse to issue or renew the annual registration of a short-term rental until the owner or host has paid all penalties, fines and liens outstanding against the property or the host. 

More:Louisville is proposing a 600-foot rule for Airbnbs: Compromise or catastrophe?

What is the 600-foot rule?

Properties that are not the owner's primary residence — "non-owner occupied" rentals — face a new location restriction in residential neighborhoods.

New properties of that type can't be within 600 feet of others in areas that are zoned residential, according to the proposal from Coan. 

The idea, he says, is to limit their density in places like the Highlands or Clifton, where there can be several on one block and the character of the neighborhood can change drastically. 

"It totally transforms the character of a block or neighborhood when you have a super density of these businesses on a residential street," Coan said this week.

Some residents and Airbnb hosts see this as a compromise, considering some had pushed for banning all new ones in residential areas altogether. But other hosts, primarily ones that don't live in the properties they own or manage, say it could cripple the industry's future in Louisville.

More:Louisville Airbnb proposal creates new location rule, cracks down on bad actors

Darcy Costello: 502-582-4834; dcostello@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @dctello. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/darcyc.