URGENT

Legislative Update

Action Needed on Competing Short Term Rental Bills

APA Idaho encourages members and communities to stay engaged as two competing short-term rental (STR) bills move through the Legislature. H 583 (the Realtor/Airbnb bill) may be heard by the full House as soon as tomorrow, while S 1263 is expected to be referred to the Senate Commerce & Human Resources Committee, with a hearing date forthcoming.

We encourage members to contact their legislators to express opposition to H 583 and support for S 1263.

Timely outreach is critical as these bills advance.

Please consider sharing this information within your networks and engaging local officials as soon as possible.

Find Your Legislator's Email Address Here

The most important difference of these competing bills is that the Realtor/Airbnb bill (H 583) strips away all local control, removes the current language in the statute about safety and general welfare in order to protect the integrity of residential neighborhoods, and prohibits communities from having a license, fee, permit, certification, or registration to operate a short-term rental. Even Airbnb’s Toolkit and the National Association of Realtors recommend as a best practice to have a registration/permit and a responsible party, along with good neighbor policies. Bill proponents claimed that Idaho communities have created a “practical prohibition” with their ordinances and that H 583 will defend fundamental property rights and restores balance. H 583 is sponsored by Moyle, Redman, Anthon, and Lakey, and backed by the Idaho Realtors, CDA Vacation Rental Alliance, and Airbnb.

Harris, Guthrie and Woodward’s bill (S 1263) includes language (based on best practices) that specifies triggers for allowing a license, permit, or certification to operate a short-term rental and allows communities to have a registration process for STRs that don’t fall into the category of requiring a license/permit/certification.

Call to Action on House Bill 583

Realtor/Airbnb Bill

Please contact Senator Bjerke right away; he just signed on as a co-sponsor on Redman’s H. 583. He needs to hear the concerns of Idaho communities, and the preference for Harris’s bill, S. 1263.

When reaching out to representatives, please provide factual information on what STR ordinances currently exist and what the permitting process looks like, and what fees are associated with permitting.

Please connect with community members whose property rights have been impacted by neighboring problematic STRs and see if they would be willing to testify and/or contact local legislators.

Please provide examples of incidents at local STRs that highlight the need for life/safety regulations such as fires or CO2 poisonings. Local reporting on these is very valuable.

APA Idaho | PO Box 9691 | Boise, ID 83707 US

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