Lake Havasu City council adopts resolution seeking local role on short-term rental rules

Lake Havasu City’s council unanimously adopted a resolution asking state legislators to include municipal voices as they consider new rules for short-term rentals.

The measure, approved during the council’s recent planning session and discussed at the Feb. 7 “Coffee with the Mayor,” asks the state to allow cities and towns to have a greater role in regulating short-term rentals while stressing the city does not seek to eliminate short-term rentals or private property rights.

The resolution responds to state-level changes that preempted local regulation beginning in 2016, the mayor said. Under current state law the city already issues short-term rental permits and charges a $250 permit fee prescribed by state statute. The city has used permit revenue to fund a dedicated code-enforcement position focused on short-term rentals.

Mayor (unnamed) told attendees the city supports “diversity of housing” and wants tools to manage short-term rentals locally. “But for those of you that have short term rentals or use short term rentals, we’re not trying to get rid of them. That is not the goal at all,” the mayor said.

Council members who sponsored the resolution said bipartisan interest at the state level — including comments by the governor during the state of the state address — made it timely to ask for a local seat at legislative discussions.

What the resolution does and does not do The document the council adopted asks state lawmakers to engage municipalities in new rulemaking and to consider options for local enforcement flexibility; it does not change local permitting rules or the city’s current $250 permit fee. It also does not create new penalties beyond existing code or state law.

City staff said the council’s entry into the statewide conversation is intended to preserve the local program that the city has operated for several years, including the permit system and a code-enforcement officer financed by permit revenue.

Next steps City staff said they will use the resolution as a basis for discussions with state lawmakers this legislative session and will share information with residents through public engagement when state proposals are released. Any state-proposed statutory changes would still need to pass the Legislature and be signed into law before the city could change the local regulatory framework.

Why it matters Short-term rentals are widely used in Lake Havasu City’s tourism-focused economy, and the city has sought to balance visitor accommodations with livability for year-round residents. The council’s resolution aims to preserve local discretion over implementation and enforcement rather than pressing for an outright ban.