New Orleans Moves Closer to Ending Short-Term Rental Exemption Program

9/25/2024

In a 4-0 vote the New Orleans City Council Governmental Affairs Committee in Louisiana approved a measure that directs the City Planning Commission to study the elimination of the special exemptions process for residential short-term rentals and to stop accepting new applications for exemptions until the study is completed. Short-term rental rules in the city allow one rental per square block, which is chosen through a lottery system, but the Council can approve up to two additional rentals through a special exemption process. The measures are expected to pass on Sept. 19, which is the last day the Council will take new applications. Council Vice President JP Morrell, who authored the measures, said that the exemptions were initially adopted to allow short-term rental operators who had been operating legally before the rules took effect to have a chance to continue operating with their neighbors' support, but it "was never meant to expand the proliferation of short-term rentals." The council's members said that those who were operating legally previously have had plenty of time to seek an exemption, and Morrell said that some people have purchased properties in the last few months and immediately applied for an exception.

New Orleans Times-Picayune (09/18/24) Kaylee Poche