ABOUT SB 1350 a.k.a “The Airbnb Law”
Arizona State Senate Bill 1350 – This Bill, passed by the Arizona State Legislature in 2016 is at the heart of the STR issue. A link to the full bill is below, the important part is:
“A city or town may not prohibit.. restrict the use of ..or regulate .. STRs based solely on their classification, use or occupancy.” Here’s what that does:
First, it strips away Single Family Residential zoning and allows commercial transient lodging to operate in Single Family Residential areas.
Second, it prohibits towns or cities from restricting or regulating STRs. Don’t want an STR next door? Too bad, there’s nothing your town can do about it.
Third, it allows UNLIMITED OCCUPANCY in STRs. Four families in a single family house? No problem. 10, 20, 50 kids on spring break next door? Perfectly legal with SB 1350. What could possibly go wrong? (99% of U.S. families have 6 or fewer members, which should be the limit in single family areas.)
Fourth – it prohibits restrictions on “use”, so literally anything goes (Adults signed this bill?). This caused so many problems it had to be amended in 2019 to prevent “nonresidential uses”, but even as amended all of the following are perfectly legal at an STR near you:
- Transient lodging with unlimited occupancy – consider the noise, nuisance and parking
- Party Houses – nothing illegal about 300 people in an STR – only noise and litter get citations
- Homeless shelter with unlimited occupancy and NO on-site management
- Fraternity house with unlimited “brothers” – (entirely possible if booked as an STR)
- RV park and campground with unlimited occupancy and NO on-site management – it’s still “residential”
- School groups, sports teams, satanic cults, klans and terrorist groups – all with unlimited occupancy and NO on-site management
- “Rent by the hour” hotel / motel
- In fairness, SB 1350 does prohibit a few things, like sex offenders and topless dancing at the STR next door. But otherwise, good luck.
SB 1350 also includes provisions that:
- Keep Airbnb data and agreements secret – so Arizona can never really know the costs or benefits of STRs to the state
- Leave huge loopholes for the collection of sales and use taxes – (see “Voluntary Collection Agreements” and “Tax Issues”)
- Prohibit audits of STR operators – (Wouldn’t YOU like to have big tax loopholes and be be immune from audits?)
- Gives STRs preferential zoning for property tax classification
The bill also makes no distinction between true Home Sharing of a primary residence and the purely commercial activity of investor owned unstaffed Whole House Rentals. These vastly different activities are both considered STRs and given residential classification.
Finally, SB 1350 was passed without any economic impact statement, without any non-partisan study of how it would affect the residents of Arizona. A giant, blind bet on the entire housing stock of Arizona.
THE PROBLEM IS NOT A FEW BAD APPLES. SB 1350 IS A ROTTEN LAW.
IT’S TIME TO FIX 1350
Link to SB 1350 HERE – If you haven’t reviewed state legislation before, the blue text is what the new bill (SB 1350) adds, deletes or changes to existing law, the black text is the existing, remaining portions of the various laws that are being modified by the new bill.