Arizona Short-Term Rental Bill Dies in Senate as Housing Crisis Persists in Vacation Towns

Arizona House measure boosting rules for short-term rentals like those offered through Airbnb and Vrbo is likely dead for the year after failing to get a hearing in the state Senate.

The failure means that Arizonans in vacation towns will continue to face the same challenges that have plagued communities like Sedona and Scottsdale: housing shortages for workers, parking complaints, and concerns about strangers using local homes as temporary lodgings.

The Bill That Never Made It

House Bill 2429, sponsored by Rep. Selina Bliss from Prescott, was designed to give municipalities more power to regulate short-term rentals. The bill would have:

• Limited the number of people who can stay in short-term rentals to two per bedroom
• Allowed cities to suspend local licenses after three violations in 24 months
• Enabled immediate action for serious health and safety violations
• Required permits to be refused when there are unpaid fines
• Mandated checks on renters to see if they are registered sex offenders

The bill passed the House twice — first on a 36-19 vote on March 10, and then on a 37-14 count after Bliss amended it to make the sex offender checks mandatory. But it never made it to the Senate Appropriations Committee for a hearing.

The Legislative Labyrinth

Rep. Bliss said she never got a direct conversation with Senate President Warren Petersen to work out a way forward. She was told Petersen didn't oppose the measure, but she was also told he was opposed to bypassing committees by allowing "strike-everything" amendments to move bills that fail to get Senate committee hearings.

That week-long delay to amend the bill meant most Senate committees were down to their final hearing of the year, and it never made agendas for its assigned committee or for the final scheduled hearing of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Transportation and Technology.

Bliss said she spoke with Sen. David Farnsworth, R-Mesa, the committee chairman, but was never able to speak to Petersen directly to hash out a way forward.

A Three-Year Fight

Bliss has been pushing for three years for new rules on short-term rentals, or STRs, including giving municipalities the ability to limit their numbers. The number of STRs has exploded in Arizona since then-Gov. Doug Ducey signed legislation in 2016 that he strongly supported, barring industry regulation.

That led to big problems in vacation towns like Sedona, where average workers can't find housing, and even Scottsdale, where rental properties are increasingly scarce because of the number of Airbnbs.

Despite calls from many municipalities, Bliss was unable to win backing for proposals allowing cities and towns to limit the number of new STRs or add new regulations because of opposition from the industry and from some lawmakers who support free-market principles.

But she was smiling earlier this year when she negotiated a deal with the industry, Realtors and cities and towns to allow at least some new rules.

Cities Already Fighting

Scottsdale City Council members expressed disappointment in the bill's failure. The city has been dealing with the impact of short-term rentals on local housing and parking for years.

The Scottsdale Independent reported that officials were frustrated that what would have been "House Bill 2429, which would have given Arizona municipalities more authority to police short-term rental looks to have died in the Senate Appropriations Committee."

What This Means

The failure of the Arizona House measure to advance means there will be no limits on short-term rentals this year on issues like the number of people who can stay in them or an easier path for communities to shut down bad actors.

Bliss said she is not giving up, but realizes her chances are between slim and none.

"I don't want to walk out of here at the end of session thinking I left a stone unturned," the Prescott Republican said in an interview with Capitol Media Services. "This is too important to too many people, too many districts."

The Numbers

The impact has been stark. In Prescott, there was a 60% increase in short-term rental properties from 2020-2024, generating $25 million in economic activity. That's the kind of number that draws both economic benefits and community complaints.

The bill also would have set a limit of two people per bedroom for overnight stays. That last item — sex offender checks — was one of the reasons the bill reached the Senate late, after passing the House on a 36-19 vote on March 10.

After passing the House on a 36-19 vote on March 10, some members demanded that the bill be amended to make the checks mandatory. In a rare move, Bliss pulled the bill back for that new amendment and a second House tally. It passed for a second time on March 17 on a 37-14 count.

That week-long delay meant most Senate committees were down to their final hearing of the year, and it never made onto the agenda for its assigned committee or for last week's final scheduled hearing of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Transportation and Technology.

She said she spoke with Sen. David Farnsworth, R-Mesa, the committe