‘Party house’ ordinance: Neighbors tire of a never-ending Spring Break next door

By Joe Schoenmann

Sunday, March 11, 2012 | 3 a.m.

The owners of a home for rent in an upscale west valley neighborhood have avoidance of government regulation down to a scripted science.

At the home, near Desert Inn Road and Tenaya Way, neighbors see new tenants arrive almost daily, sometimes weekly, despite a county code prohibiting renting to tenants for less than a month.

Not that the renters make a lot of noise, throw beer bottles or otherwise litter the streets. But neighbors, many of whom have lived there for decades, don’t like the transience it brings. This isn’t the Strip, these homes aren’t hotels. So they’ve made their complaints known.

In response, government officials began making inquiries.

The home’s owners got wise and crafted a script for tenants, telling them what to say to avoid the $1,000-a-day fines for renting for fewer than 31 days.

“All of our lease agreements are written for at least a 31-day period,” begins the script, contained in a December 2011 email. It goes on to say renters won’t be fined if they leave before 31 days but “a code enforcement officer (which looks exactly like a police officer) will most likely stop at the house during your stay.”

Bolded for emphasis, the script adds: “To avoid a fine, you cannot say ‘I’m renting for the weekend’ or ‘I’m here for a couple days.’ You and the owner will be fined up to 1K per day if you say any of the above responses or anything about staying less than a 31-day period. If asked, please tell the code enforcement office ‘our lease agreement starts (on one day and ends 31 days later).’ ”

Neighbors contacted the Sun after reading about the county’s $29,000 fine last week against a “party house” at 5565 El Camino Road.

It was a snarky remark from a short-term tenant at that home, in the tony Spanish Palms development, that helped the county build a case for its hefty fine. But even if the tenants had kept to themselves and caused no problems, the mere fact that neighbors noticed the home was being rented for less than a month would have been reason enough for the county to get involved.

The intent of the county code, which is similar to a Las Vegas ordinance, is to prevent homes from being operated like hotels, with guests checking in and out every few days or weeks. The $1,000-a-day fine was adopted in 2010, but until last week’s commission vote had never been imposed.

Commissioner Steve Sisolak said he expects the number of property owners facing such fines to increase.

The county’s Public Response Office has typically tallied about three dozen complaints of short-term rentals a year. Sisolak believes many more problems are out there but neighbors have contacted police, who haven’t directed concerns to the county. Hundreds of homes in the Las Vegas Valley are advertised on the Internet as short-term rentals, but the county only investigates potential code violations if a complaint is filed.

“If neighbors notice different vehicles, different groups of people going in and out of the home every week — activities more in keeping with a hotel — and they don’t like it, they have the right to file a complaint,” Sisolak said.

Of five complaints currently in the system, which the county is still trying to work out with the homeowners before penalties are considered, one from late last year is against a home in the southwest valley. The Sun talked to the complainant, who did not wish to be identified but said living near the short-term rental has been “hell.”

“There have been buses coming up here, they’ll rent it to 30, 40 people at a time, we always have to call the police,” the man said. Complicating matters is that the homeowner might live outside of the country and use a leasing agent to rent out the home.

This weekend is going to be bad, the man said, with the NASCAR race in town. “They’re already out there right now,” he said last week of his short-term weekend neighbors.

Frustrated homeowners calling the Sun wondered if the Clark County ordinance would cover their homes, even though they lived in Henderson, North Las Vegas and Mesquite. While most of those municipalities have their own nuisance or “party-house” codes, callers said they had a difficult time getting governments to intervene.

Cathi Giblin lives in a 150-unit condo complex in Mesquite where about 45 units are rented out for days, weekends or weeks to the frustration of permanent residents.

This weekend's host of NASCAR fans was already making life in the complex feel like Spring Break at Daytona Beach, she said last week. During golf season, drunken players stumble in and out of weekend rentals. And a while ago, a short-term renter defecated in the condo complex hot tub.

“They think they’re at a resort, but these are private residences,” she said.

When she contacted the city, Giblin said officials listened and acted concerned but nothing was done. One official told her the rentals were “good for the economy.”

But Mesquite Councilman Kraig Hafen said the city attorney is looking into the situation: “We’re trying to find out why their (homeowners association) isn’t doing something about it. We’re looking at licensing. (The city is trying to) figure out what the best avenue is not only for the HOA but for the city and everyone involved.”

Giblin, who has banded with other permanent residents, said she will be relentless in her fight.

“Everyone’s attitude is, ‘you can’t fight city hall,’ ” she said. “But yes, you can. I’m not going to lose my investment here. I’m going to fight for it.”