For years, cities and towns in northern Arizona have lobbied the state Legislature for the power to limit short-term rentals.
The explosion in short-term rentals have driven up housing costs and slashed the number of affordable homes.
Prescott Republican Representative Selina Bliss introduced three bills to address short-term rentals this session, but all of them stalled in the state House.
She spoke with KNAU’s Adrian Skabelund.
Adrian Skabelund: Currently, state law prevents localities from regulating short-term rentals. Is that a problem?
Selina Bliss: Well, you just hit it on the head right there, and it's an issue of local control where the state comes in and tries to take over cities and towns.
That's part of the problem. The other piece is the private property rights [that seem to be] what stops leadership from assigning these bills.
But we argue: what about the private property rights of the folks living in these neighborhoods, having investment firms come in, buy out housing stock, displace the neighbors and drive up home prices?
So, there's got to be some happy medium in there.
That's where [my] bills look to either limit how many licenses are issued or give back the city some control.
You know, we even went back to Debbie Lesko.
She was the original sponsor of the bill that really created what we're seeing today. And she does get it now that she's on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. She realizes, "Oh, this wasn't the intent of this bill. It was meant for those who have the casita in the back, they want that extra income, but they live on the property."
So, look what this exploded to, and now it's time to take corrective action.
Skabelund: When you speak to your colleagues at the legislature about this issue, what are those conversations?
Bliss: I say to leadership, "At what point are we going to become concerned? Is it when 30% of the housing stock is displaced?" I mean, what's that trigger to say, "Hey, we've got a problem?”
The other thing I had an "aha-moment" on is getting these urban legislators out of town to see these neighborhoods and the effect. You pull up to a property and it's got multiple exit doors, multiple cars parked in the front. It's obvious that's not a private homeowner.
So, to literally get out and see the effects. And that's where I told some of the leadership in some of our rural areas, "Send us photos; we need to show others what this in reality looks like to live next to a short-term rental."
I want to point out, I'm not against short-term rentals. We're just looking for balance.
Skabelund: Do the resolutions we've seen cities across northern Arizona pass make a difference at the capitol?
Bliss: Yes, it does make an impact when you get a group together to sign on.
The Arizona League of Cities and Towns is very good about this. They brought in all the mayors — this was two years ago — and they had 30-some mayors sign on to this resolution. That speaks loudly to leadership to say, "Hey, this is a real issue. This is not going away. If anything, it's getting worse. And we as Arizonans are being taken advantage of, sometimes by outside investors."
Skabelund: And other than convincing leadership on this issue, what is the biggest challenge here?
Bliss: The Realtors Association: they're the biggest obstruction to all of this.
So, when we can take a lobbyist and a lobbying association and help them understand the effects on the neighborhoods — they are the number one reason we are not seeing progress.
So, I reach out to my friends and family and those that are realtors and I say to them, "Go to your professional association and say, 'Look, maybe this isn't in the best interest of the people we serve.'”
Skabelund: Representative Bliss, thank you so much for giving me some of your time today.
Bliss: Yeah. And appreciate you getting the awareness out.
KNAU asked both the Arizona Association of Realtors and the Northern Arizona Association of Realtors about the lawmaker's remarks.
A spokesperson for each organization said they did not have a comment at this time.
