Beginning Saturday, cities and towns in Arizona will no longer be able to ban homeowners from listing their property on vacation rental websites like AirBnb. The regulation is one of hundreds of new state laws set to go into effect this weekend.
Senate Bill 1350 passed the the Arizona legislature earlier this year. The law effectively settles a lawsuit filed against the town of Jerome in northern Arizona after community leaders tried to ban residents from using their property as vacation rentals. It also allows the vacation rental sites to collect lodging taxes for property owners.
Glenn Odegard is a resident of Jerome. He says he’s happy to see the new law take effect.
"From my perspective, if I didn’t have the ability to recoup my investment by renting out the house to other guests, I wouldn’t have had the financial resources to restore a house that was vacant and abandoned for 60 years," Odegard said.
Officials with the town of Jerome couldn’t be reached for comment.
