Nashville shuts down 100 short-term rentals after code enforcement permit error

Tennessee: The city of Nashville has put 100 short-term rentals out of business as Metro Code Enforcement says it issued those permits by mistake.

Short-term rentals have become an increasingly popular service to use in Nashville, due to rising hotel prices in the area.

Short-term rental host Darin, who rents out his Nashville home, told Fox 17 News: “It’s a growing city, and hotel prices are out the roof.”

Darin said he had been renting his place for about a year, as it is a way for him to make ends meet, but recently he received a notice to stop operating his rental.

He said: “It’s just kind of frustrating because there’s always something that’s put in place to stop you from progressing.”

Last February, Metro revised the short-term rental laws in order to eliminate non-owner-occupied permits in residential zoning districts.

There were two provisions: hosts are required to own their units and live in one of them, and the other prohibiting the splitting of ownership of homes in two-family lots.

However, in October, they realised many permits were mistakenly issued.

Darin said: “You can do it in an apartment building, you can do it in a town home, but you can’t do it in an actual house that’s in a neighbourhood.”

Nashville hosts have expressed frustration with the decision. One woman filed a lawsuit, and local lawyer Jamie Hollin said the codes department is aggressively going after people who possess owner-occupied permits.

He said: “The government wants to take away the rights of property owners, and later claim it was ‘issued in error,’ while at the same time enjoying the benefit of sales tax collection.”

The code department is hoping to send out notices in the next few weeks.

Anyone who believes their permit was wrongly cancelled can still try to overturn it at the Board of Zoning Appeals.