Litchfield Park votes to regulate vacation rental homes

By Madeline Ackley
Twitter: @Mkayackley

Litchfield Park has become the latest Valley city to implement restrictions on short-term vacation rentals, and repeat offenders could face prison time and thousands of dollars in fines. 

When the new ordinance goes into effect in the next month, Litchfield residents who list their homes on sites like Airbnb or Vrbo will need to alert the city, proving the rental address and contact information for the person responsible for handling complaints.

The city will assign each vacation rental a unique registration number.  

The ordinance, which is the first time the city has attempted to regulate vacation rentals, will also place restrictions on what people are allowed to do in the homes. 

Any non-residential use, such as unlicensed events, will be prohibited and violations may incur penalties.

A first offense can carry a fine of $500, and a second offense within a 12-month period is doubled. A third offense within a one-year period carries a fine of $1,500. 

Those who commit three or more offenses in a 24-month period could be deemed “habitual offenders” and may face a class-one misdemeanor. 

Penalties could include a fine of up to $2,500 and a prison sentence of up to six months for anyone who “causes, permits, facilitates, aides or abets” violations. 

Under the new ordinance, contact information for the person responsible for handling complaints at the residence must be displayed “in a conspicuous place within 10 feet of the primary entrance.”

The ordinance also states that if police arrive at the property requesting its owner,  the property owner or their agent must be available in person or over the phone within one hour. 

A search on Airbnb showed at least six listings in Litchfield Park ranging from $90 to $400 per night.

Penalties could get even tougher, depending on what happens in Scottsdale

But at least one member of the city council thought the penalties aren’t tough enough. 

Vice Mayor Paul Faith asked in a meeting why the city didn’t take its cue from Scottsdale, which launched even stricter short-term vacation rental ordinances earlier this month. 

Read the full ordinance below: 

“Scottsdale recently adopted an ordinance along these same lines but with a whole lot more teeth in it,” Faith said at the Jan. 19 city council meeting. 

City attorney Joseph Estes chimed in and said the city of Scottsdale had already been informed of a legal challenge against their ordinance.

“We will keep an eye on that,” Estes said, suggesting that for the moment Litchfield pass the ordinance as presented. 

“If Scottsdale prevails, then absolutely we can follow their lead,” Estes said, “but allow (Scottsdale) to incur the fees…to fight over that argument.”

The ordinance was passed unanimously on Jan. 19.

Madeline Ackley can be reached at mackley@iniusa.org or found on Twitter @Mkayackley.