Short-Term Rentals Too Controversial to Touch in New Orleans

"A proposed sweeping rewrite of New Orleans’ controversial rules for short-term rentals got its first public airing Tuesday, the first of what are likely to be several debates about a revamp already proving as contentious as the law it could replace," reports Jessica Williams.

"The City Planning Commission ultimately held off until next week on making any recommendations about the proposal its staff recently unveiled, citing a need for more time to review the proposed rules and various opinions about them," adds Williams.

New Orleans approved its short-term rental regulations in October 2016, while other tourist-friendly destination looked on with interest. Less than two years later, however, the city began to rethink those regulations, facing mounting pressure from neighborhood groups.

The proposed revisions to the rules "would largely limit short-term rentals to homes with a permanent occupant or to commercial properties that rent less than a quarter of their rooms to tourists," according to Williams. "The new rules also would lift the ban on short-term rentals in most of the French Quarter…"