Looking for the latest data on short-term rental license applications? Use our new Airbnb tracker.
As of Saturday, short-term rentals are legal and regulated in New Orleans. For a couple of weeks, the city has been taking applications from people who want to rent their houses and apartments through Airbnb and similar services.
Here are the locations of applications received as of Friday afternoon.
Applications received as of March 31: 696
That’s well below the number of listings compiled last fall by an Airbnb tracking service, but the city expects to get most applications in April, when Airbnb starts providing the names of people who have registered through its website.
The map shows the concentration of rentals in the Marigny and Bywater neighborhoods, where debate over the effect of these rentals has been fierce.
About the city’s short-term rental law
Last year, the city council approved what has been called a model for municipal regulation of short-term rental services. For years, rentals of fewer than 30 days have been illegal in most of the city (60 days in the French Quarter).
They’re now legal throughout the city, except in most of the Quarter. The law places a 90-day annual limit on rentals of entire houses or apartments in residential neighborhoods. There is no annual limit on half-doubles, spare rooms and properties in non-residential neighborhoods.
Annual licenses range from $50 for up to 90 days to $500 for a commercial license, which is only available in non-residential areas.
The ordinance came after the market for short-term rentals exploded in the city. Last year, The Lens even identified a handful of listings in buildings that were built or renovated with government subsidies for affordable housing.
Proponents of short-term rentals, such as the Alliance for Neighborhood Prosperity, argue that vacation rentals generate extra income that helps residents afford rent, property taxes and insurance.
Opponents argue that the use of private houses for tourism has contributed to rising rents and displaced residents.
The city has rarely enforced its ban on short-term rentals. City officials have said the fees collected for licenses will be used to enforce the new rules.
