Image of the backyard of “The Enchanted Elegant Mansion” in Las Vegas as advertised online by TotalMax Homes.
A controversial bill passed by state lawmakers on the last day of the Legislature is forcing Clark County to regulate short-term rents currently banned in unincorporated areas of the valley. But it is unlikely to put an end to the most pesky variety – the party houses – whose owners are finding creative ways to bypass the law.
“Total Max Homes is a unique company dedicated to providing the best luxury vacation rentals in Las Vegas …” says a website offers vacation stays in a handful of properties by names like Dreams and Desires Mansion and Elegant Enchantment Mansion. The houses are mostly in upscale neighborhoods near the Sahara and Rainbow.
“All rentals must be 31+ days to meet current Clark County’s regulation, ”the website states.
By requesting a lease of 31 days or more, Total Max Homes is circumventing the current ban on STRs in the county and avoiding paying the temporary lodging tax, a 13 percent levy that applies to accommodations of 30 days or less.
Gary Wu, the CEO of Total Max Homes, did not respond to numerous requests for comment, according to his LinkedIn page.
Neighbors say the homes attract crowds of visitors, vehicles, and the vices of a Vegas vacation.
“We bought our houses with the understanding that we are entitled to peaceful, quiet enjoyment,” says real estate agent and resident Lisa Skurow. She says something Neighbors suspect that the properties were operated as mini brothels at times.
“People rent these places to do what they can’t do on the Strip – have a bus full of escorts show up in the middle of the night,” says Skurow. “I had to explain to my little daughter on two different occasions who these scantily clad women are who stand on the corner without shoes and coats in winter.”
Party houses account for a fraction of the valley’s short-term rentals, estimated by MP Rochelle Nguyen at between 8,000 and 18,000. But they kindle the greatest passion in the opponents.
Nguyen, who sponsored Assembly Bill 363, which requires Clark County to lift its bans on STRs, regulate them, and generate millions of dollars in lost tax revenue, included a provision requiring a minimum two night stay in real estate that are not inhabited by the owner – and efforts to prevent rental apartments from being used as party houses. However, the law only applies to properties rented for 30 days or less.
Nguyen did not respond to requests for comment on the efforts of some party house landlords to circumvent the applicable regulations.
“We have been fighting against it for five years,” says Skurow, who says Last month, the neighbors finally met with Commissioner Justin Jones and the Las Vegas Metro Police at former federal judge Linda Riegle’s home. “The police can come out for harassment or criminal activity.”
Jones, who represents the district, attempted to enforce the county code with a proposal to add the tax lists that are collected against chronic harassment. Landowners who didn’t pay would have ultimately taken their homes from Clark County. Senate Bill 57, which would have given the county authority to do so, died when banks and mortgage brokers objected and threatened to limit lending in Nevada.
The measure adopted, AB 363, “will really change the landscape of Las Vegas,” says Skurow. “We’re going to lose neighborhoods to people who think they’re hoteliers.”
“How can anyone turn a blind eye when it comes to these houses?” Asks Skurow, who says the accommodations are being renovated to accommodate more guests. “The first thing that goes up is the walls, so you can’t see inside.”
Code enforcement documents indicate extensive unauthorized work on the property. The County Assessor’s website, which is used to determine the value of property tax, lists square footage for the properties that are thousands of feet less than those listed on real estate websites such as Trulia and Zillow.
“They run gas pipes, electrical lines – who knows what’s hidden behind these walls because they are not being inspected. They don’t use licensed contractors for this work, ”says Skurow. “It’s only a matter of time before it turns a block, a house, a bachelorette party or a porn shoot.”
The internet is replete with suggestions on how vacation rental owners can avoid regulations and taxes. Violating the laws for STRs is itself a homework. Owners wishing to bypass the short term rental term are directed to include a provision in a long term rental agreement that will allow it Termination for a small fee.
“According to my research, a landlord cannot enter into a contract for the purpose of circumventing the applicable Short Term Rent Act by entering into an agreement with a term of more than 30 days if the landlord and tenant do not intend to comply with such a contract,” says Las Vegas attorney Sagar Raich. “The Nevada Supreme Court has ruled for over 100 years that ‘agreements that violate the aims and objectives of legislative enactments, or, as it is most commonly expressed, the guidelines of those enactments, are void.'”
But the challenge of the operations will require resources that Clark County says it lacks, with the estimated cost of implementing the new law’s provisions over the next biennium at $ 3.5 million a year.
“We’ve been tracking the worst of the worst offenders for several years and bringing them to justice,” says Jones. “Unfortunately, on two counts, the judge ruled that the county’s fines were arbitrary and capricious.”
Wu appealed more than $ 100,000 in county fines imposed on four properties. Two out of four cases are pending.
In April, Judge Timothy Williams ruled, according to the court record, that the county was “arbitrary and capricious about the enforcement of sentences” and had “no regulation as a basis for the sentence.”
Williams ordered the county to overturn “all administrative charges, including fines and liens,” imposed on the owner, W&W Holdings LLC-Series A. Jennifer Wu and Gary Wu are listed as executive members by the state.
The lawyer representing Wu did not respond to requests for comment.
According to Jones, the county has a three-pronged plan.
“We’re going to be revising our ordinance to make it clearer so we don’t have to wonder if it’s Title 11 or Title 30,” said Jones of the code that distinguishes between short and long term rentals. “We will pursue injunctive relief under the concept of chronic harassment.”
“In addition, with the passage of AB 363, which contains some mechanisms, we have to look into what will be legal in the county.”