You Decide Realty · Short-Term Rental Resource Center
Most of what you will read online about Las Vegas short-term rentals is out of date, and some of it is out of date in ways that will cost you a property. A federal judge suspended the core of Clark County's licensing scheme. The county is appealing — and it just moved to make Airbnb and Vrbo enforce the rules instead.
This is the resource center we built so our clients stop guessing. Verified against the source, rewritten when the source changes.
Start here
This is the single most expensive misunderstanding in the Las Vegas short-term rental market, and we watch buyers make it every month.
Tens of thousands of homes carry a “Las Vegas, NV” mailing address while sitting entirely outside city limits in unincorporated Clark County. Spring Valley, Enterprise, Paradise, Summerlin South, Sunrise Manor, Whitney — all of them mail as “Las Vegas.” None of them follow City of Las Vegas rules.
A buyer reads the City of Las Vegas STR page, confirms the rules, closes on a house in Enterprise, and discovers the property was never governed by the city at all. Different licensing body. Different separation distances. Different legal status entirely — and right now, a completely different enforcement posture.
Before you underwrite a deal, before you write an offer, before you believe any article on the internet including this one: pull the parcel record and confirm the jurisdiction. The tool below walks you through it.
Interactive tool
Sixty seconds. It ends with the correct rule set and the correct next step.
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The library
Each guide covers eligibility, separation distances, occupancy limits, the full application sequence, fees, taxes, safety requirements, enforcement posture, and the code sections behind them.
Enforcement enjoined
The largest pool of housing stock and the most volatile legal picture in Nevada. Licensing capped at roughly 1% of housing stock, application window closed since 2023, 174 licenses ever issued — and the whole apparatus currently blocked by a federal court while the county appeals.
Owner-occupied only
Legal, licensed, and functioning — but structurally closed to the classic investor model. You must live in the home and be present during every stay. Three bedrooms maximum, 660-foot separation, 2,500 feet from any resort hotel, HOA consent required.
Most workable path
The realistic route to a non-owner-occupied short-term rental in the valley — if you can find an eligible parcel. 1,000-foot radial separation between units, density caps by neighborhood and building, a registration fee near $848, and $1M in liability coverage.
Discretionary approval
Permitted, but only through a Conditional Use Permit granted before you may apply for a business license. That means a public hearing, neighbor notification within 200 feet, exterior noise monitoring, and an approval that is a judgment call rather than a checklist.
At a glance
The differences that decide whether a deal works.
| Unincorporated Clark County | City of Las Vegas | City of Henderson | City of North Las Vegas | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-owner-occupied allowed? | Yes in the ordinance — but licensing is capped and closed | No. Owner must reside and be on-site | Yes, subject to caps and separation | Yes, with an approved Conditional Use Permit |
| Approval type | License (capped, window closed) | Conditional Use Verification + license | Registration / permit | Conditional Use Permit, then license |
| Separation from other STRs | 2,500 ft | 660 ft | 1,000 ft radial | 660 ft |
| Separation from resort hotels | 2,500 ft | 2,500 ft | Verify with city | 2,500 ft |
| Bedroom / occupancy cap | 2 per bedroom, 10 max per unit | 3 bedrooms max | Per code; verify with city | Per CUP conditions |
| Density cap | ~1% of housing stock | Managed by separation | Neighborhood cap; 25% max in multifamily | Managed by separation + CUP |
| Annual license / registration | $750 (≤3 br) / $1,500 (>3 br) | $500 | ~$848 registration | $900 license + $100 CUP |
| Inspection fee | $150 (+$45 application) | Inspection required | Inspection required | Code enforcement inspection |
| Liability insurance | Required | $500,000 minimum | $1,000,000 general liability | Required |
| Transient lodging tax | 13% (13.38% in Primary Gaming Corridor) | 13% (13.38% in Primary Gaming Corridor) | ~13% | ~13% |
| HOA consent | Effectively required | Written HOA permission required | Effectively required | Effectively required |
| Current enforcement posture | Key provisions enjoined | Active | Active | Active |
Investor tool
Licensing and lodging tax are the two line items investors most often leave out of a pro forma. Model them here.
Why this library exists
You Decide Realty was built on the idea that the client makes the decision and the broker supplies the truth to make it with. If a property does not pencil under the actual rules, we will say so before you write the offer — not after.
Every figure on this site traces to a jurisdiction's own code, licensing page, or a court's own order. We review all four jurisdictions on a monthly cycle and re-date each page when we do. Where something is genuinely unsettled, we say it is unsettled.
Flat fee, traditional, or hybrid — you decide how you pay us, on your STR purchase or your sale. The commission conversation is yours to direct. That is the whole premise of the brokerage.
Free · No obligation
Send an address and we will come back with the governing jurisdiction, the zoning designation, whether an HOA controls the parcel, and an honest read on whether a short-term rental is realistically achievable there.
We will pull the parcel and get back to you within one business day. If it is urgent, call 702-843-0044 and ask for Ken.
Thirty-one items covering jurisdiction verification, CC&R review, license transferability, insurance, inspection triggers, and the contingency language that protects you if the rules move between contract and close.
Questions we get weekly
It depends entirely on which of the four jurisdictions your parcel sits in, and the answers are not close to each other. In the City of Las Vegas you can, but only if you live in the home and are present during the stay. In Henderson and North Las Vegas there are functioning approval paths for non-owner-occupied properties, subject to separation distances, caps, and in North Las Vegas a discretionary hearing. In unincorporated Clark County, the licensing scheme exists on paper but its enforcement is currently blocked by a federal court while the county appeals — a situation that requires real care to navigate.
No, and this is the most dangerous misreading circulating in the market. A preliminary injunction is a pause on enforcement of specific provisions while litigation proceeds. It is not a repeal. The ordinance still exists, the county has authorized an appeal, and if the county prevails, enforcement can resume. Separately, the county is now advancing an ordinance to require the booking platforms themselves to verify licensing and deactivate unlicensed listings — an approach that could restrict your ability to operate without the county fining you at all.
Anyone treating the injunction as permanent permission is underwriting a risk they have not priced. Read the full breakdown.
Assume no. Across these jurisdictions, STR approvals are generally tied to the owner and the specific application, not to the land — and Henderson states plainly that permits do not transfer at sale and every buyer re-applies under current rules. Treat any listing marketed as “licensed STR, license conveys” as a claim to verify in writing with the licensing body before your due-diligence period ends, not as a fact.
It does not. A government license grants you permission from the government; it does nothing about a private covenant running with your land. Nevada courts have consistently upheld HOA authority to restrict or prohibit short-term rentals, and NRS Chapter 116 gives associations substantial power over use restrictions. There is a meaningful nuance in NRS 116.335 regarding restrictions adopted after you purchased, and whether a rule was validly adopted at all can matter — but those are questions for a Nevada attorney, not for an internet article.
Practically: read the CC&Rs and the current rules before you write the offer. The City of Las Vegas will require written HOA permission anyway.
Transient lodging tax is the one people miss. In Clark County it runs 13% generally and 13.38% inside the Primary Gaming Corridor, due by the 15th of the following month. Under AB 363, the booking platforms are required to collect and remit it for Nevada short-term vacation rentals — but collecting and filing are separate obligations. Henderson, for example, still requires registered operators to file the monthly form regardless of what the platform remits, and any direct booking puts collection back on you.
Confirm what your platform is actually handling rather than assuming, and know that the operator remains liable for the tax whether or not it was collected from the guest. Federal and state income tax treatment is a separate conversation — talk to a CPA who actually does short-term rentals. Full tax breakdown →
174 — in a jurisdiction of roughly one million residents and about 300,000 homes. The application window closed in August 2023 and the program is capped near 1% of housing stock. That gap between licensed supply and actual operating supply is the central fact of this market and the reason the litigation happened.
Get advice specific to your property rather than acting on general information. Your exposure depends on your parcel, your operating history, whether any citation or lien already attached, and how the appeal resolves. The injunction currently blocks fines, nuisance declarations, and liens — but the platform-accountability ordinance moving through the Board would change your practical ability to operate regardless of county fines. This is a moment to be deliberate. Send us the address and we will tell you what we see, or talk to a Nevada land-use attorney.
For some clients, yes — particularly in Henderson where the path is real and the rules are stable. For others the honest answer is no, and we say so. What we will not do is let you underwrite 300 nights of revenue against a regulatory environment we know is unsettled. Bring us the deal and we will pressure-test it with you.
Important. You Decide Realty is a licensed Nevada real estate brokerage. This resource center is provided for general informational purposes and reflects our good-faith reading of publicly available jurisdiction materials and court records as of the verification date shown on each page. It is not legal advice, tax advice, or a substitute for confirming requirements directly with the governing jurisdiction. Ordinances, fees, caps, and enforcement posture in this market change frequently and sometimes on short notice, and pending litigation may alter what is enforceable at any time. Before acquiring, financing, or operating a short-term rental, verify all requirements with the applicable licensing authority and consult a qualified Nevada attorney and tax professional.