In 2016, 340,000 visitors used the home-sharing service Airbnb to book a room in Nevada. While this is not significant when compared with major cities, homeowners who want to rent out their home to short-term renters have more than a few rules to keep in mind. As of 2017, the City of Las Vegas put legislation into place to protect the hospitality-driven market, as hotels in Las Vegas don’t want short-term rentals clamping down on their customer experiences or profits.

While North Las Vegas doesn’t have rules on short-term rentals, those that are less than 30 days are banned in Henderson and unincorporated Clark County. Homeowners interested in renting out their home can use this tool to determine if their home is outside of Las Vegas and eligble to rent out. 

Short-term rentals are still a prevalent issue, and Southern Nevada is still trying to figure out how these rentals fit into the market. Besides taking a course on renting out your home on Airbnb, reporting your income and getting homeowners insurance, are just a few of the rules you must follow, if you want to use your home as a short-term rental property. 

Here are the seven rules you need to know about renting your home in Las Vegas:

A rental home in Las Vegas

Do not Rent out Your Home as a “Party House”

That’s right. The illegal rental market in Las Vegas is notorious for its party houses, loosely defined as any home that rents to mass numbers of people and includes drinking, drugs, noise, and, well, partying of any kind. The law now requires that property owners cannot rent to more than 18 people during the day and 12 at night. Rentals can fit two people per unit, plus two per additional bedroom. The city will be aware of this when they complete an inspection on the home in question before you become a landlord. 

Check to see if There’s Another Short-Term Rental Nearby

The city prohibits more than one short-term property within 660 feet of an existing listing, which is measured from the property line. This rule is particularly important to keep in mind the closer you get to The Strip and downtown, as several popular listings are already active in these areas.

Avoid Renting out Your Home if it’s in a Master-Planned Community

Several master-planned communities in Summerlin, including Skye Canyon, Cliff’s Edge, and Providence Square, prohibit short-term rentals. Avoid these areas to keep your neighbors from calling the cops on tenants or getting into messy legal problems.

File a Permit Application and get a Business License

To start the process of becoming a landlord in Las Vegas, you have to file a nonrefundable permit application that costs $500. The city also requires landlords to acquire a business license in order to run their short-term rental venture above-board. You may also consider forming an LLC, which may impact the way you file your taxes but might ultimately work out better in the long run. 

Purchase Liability Insurance and a Special Use Permit

If anything goes wrong in your rental, you’re definitely not off the hook in court. This is why the city requires landlords to have proof of liability insurance of more than $500,000 along with a special use permit that costs $1,030. Placards detailing maximum occupancy along with contact information must also be displayed on the property. 

Hire a Licensed Security Company

If a property has more than five bedrooms, the city requires that the owner keep a licensed security company on retainer that’s available 24/7 to respond to any complaints or security issues that may occur. 

Tell Your Tenants to Keep the Noise down

There’s a 24-hour tip line that lets neighbors inform on noisy tenants, which can put the property owner at risk to lose their license. If the tenants are in an illegal short-term rental, the property owner (and sometimes the tenants) can be fined $1,000 and even face jail time.