On December 1, 2016, the City Council passed an ordinance that is intended to regulate Short Term Rentals. The Ordinance went into effect on April 1. The purpose of the ordinance is to limit and reign in the expansive growth of the STRs citywide, to eliminated full-time, whole home rentals in residential neighborhoods, create equitable regulations for the hospitality industry, generate revenue for the City and minimize nuisances and prioritize enforcement.
As of April 1, ANY Short Term Rental operating in the French Quarter,
Outside of the entertainment district on Bourbon Street
is operating illegally!!!!
Although the Ordinance prohibits short term rentals in the French Quarter except for the 200-700 block of Bourbon, it must be enforced to be meaningful. Additionally, under the new ordinance, STRs ARE allowed in the rest of the City, on a limited basis. Therefore, enforcement is necessary to protect not only the French Quarter from all attempts to operate an STR but also to ensure that our sister neighborhoods are protected from potential bad operators that do not follow the rules.
The enforcement plan will include penalties for all violations. Residents of the French Quarter should be well informed on the procedure for reporting violations and the penalties attached to those violations.
- The City’s website allows you to REPORT A VIOLATION online and provides RULES and GUIDELINES.
- TIPS for reporting STR Violations
The City is planning for a technology-driven research staff to collect data from the web and process that against the City’s licensing data. Airb&b has agreed to sign a collection agreement with the City to collect taxes and fees and will provide information on the operator of the short term rental property. The platform will also provide the number of STRs operating during a given period and anonymous information on the number of nights each listing was rented. If the an operator is violating the 90 day/5 times per year limit, the City can then contact the platform and obtain the specific identification of a suspected violator listing including
- Name
- Listing address
- Tax address
- Contact information (email address, phone number)
- Type A, Type T, and Commercial
- Proof of attestation
The following violations are subject to penalties and will apply to the parts of the City where limited STRs are allowed:
- To advertise without a license
- To fail to post license number in the listing,
- To advertise beyond the scope of the license
As mentioned above, these violations would only apply to the 200-700 block of Bourbon Street. STRs are prohibited everywhere else in the French Quarter and an attempt to operate one is an automatic violation of the law.
Penalties, which will apply to ALL illegal short terms rentals will include:
- Daily fines
- Property liens
- Revocation of permit
- Discontinuation of electric service
Complaint based enforcement
Whenever the French Quarter prohibition is violated, or an operator exceeds the allowable operating time in other parts of the City, a complaint must be made. A violation can be reported by a phone hot line, or by filling out a form on the web.
A complaint can be submitted by calling 311 or using the online form. The complaint will then be entered into a data base and assigned to an inspector. The inspection is performed and the complaint will be classified as founded or unfounded. If the complaint is deemed to be founded, the owner will be noticed and an Administrative adjudication Hearing will be set. If the hearing reveals a violation, fines will be assessed and they are not paid, a lien will be placed on the property, and the license may be revoked.
Web-based enforcement
Additionally, IT specialists hired by the City will be checking data on the platforms for potential excessive usage. They will also long in the data provided by Airb&b. If a violation is found, the operator will be investigated. If valid, fines will be assessed and/or liens placed on the property. In some cases, the electric service will be shut off.