Private sector can solve short-term rental issue

The recent ruling striking down the constitutionality of Metro Nashville's ordinance means a strategy shift is in order. 

The Tennessean, by Justin Owen and David Krauss - It was 12:39 on a Saturday morning. A bachelorette party was still going strong, just back from a fun night on Broadway.

Back at their short-term rental in East Nashville, the party didn’t seem to be winding down anytime soon. But then one of the partygoers’ cell phone rang. It was the rental host, telling her that he had received a text alert that the party had become too loud. The text didn’t come from a neighbor, or even worse the police, but from NoiseAware, a service that provides short-term rental hosts with a “smoke detector for excessive noise.”

 .... some on the Metro Council want to double down, imposing even more stringent regulations, such as limiting the number of unrelated persons who can stay in someone’s home. ...Rather than enact even more impossible to enforce regulations, the city should instead boost penalties for the violations that actually harm neighbors’ quiet enjoyment of their property, and allow private sector solutions like NoiseAware to help short-term rental owners become more responsible hosts. (Read more)

My Comment: Justin Own is president and CEO the Beacon Center of Tennessee. The Beacon Center successfully got portions of Nashville's Short Term Rental Properties regulations overturned as unconstitutional. 

I agree with the view expressed in this article. Government can usually do more good by doing fewer things and doing them well and then getting out of the way.  A lot of issues resolve themselves if government does not try to micro manage.

I have a close relative who has a rental property and they converted it to a short-term rental. Given the cash flow, one would think they were making a killing.  However, the expense was high, paying all utilities and cable and taxes. Also it was like running a business. It was a lot of work. They had to get up in the night to let people in who had lost the code or could not work the entry lock. They had to rush over and clean the house and wash the linen as soon as someone moved out to prepare it for the next guest. After operating the house as a Short Term Rental for a few months they converted it back into a regular rental property.  Not everyone who got in the short term rental business will stay in it.

Another factor to consider is that there are thousands of hotel and motel units under construction or on the drawing board fot the Nashville area.  I could not find a specific count but have seen it reported in the past and it is an enormous number of units that are going to be coming on line.  As more units come on line, fewer units of housing will be converted to STRP and some that are now short term rental may convert back to long term rental properties. 

I live in the Woodland in Waverly neighborhood and one door down from me is a short term rental and diagonally across the street is one.  I have heard people laughing and having a good time.  I could hear them, but it was not offensive.  There are some people who are just not happy if other people are having fun.

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