This year, Louisiana state legislators could consider bills that could bring tighter regulation and enforcement to the state’s short-term rental industry.
New Orleans housing advocates say the proposed bills are a step in the right direction in controlling an industry they claim negatively impacts housing stock and affordability for residents by taking homes and apartments off the long-term market and renting them to tourists.
For nearly a decade, the city of New Orleans has attempted to regulate the short-term rental industry through a myriad of local ordinances. The regulations, which have largely focused on short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods, apply to properties that are listed on platforms like Airbnb and VRBO. Airbnb and short-term rental operators have struck back, repeatedly challenging the city’s permitting rules in court, and New Orleans City Council President JP Morrell has subsequently threatened to ban short-term rentals altogether.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration has admitted to difficulties with enforcing the short-term rental rules, citing department understaffing and other reasons.
“Some of these bills feel … brought about by the fact that local administration and regulation has been so stymied by lawsuits and various challenges over the past several years,” said Angela Owczarek, the housing and programs director for the Jane Place Neighborhood Sustainability Initiative.
One proposed bill, HB 469, would explicitly allow local governments statewide to regulate short-term rentals. The proposed legislation also lays out what types of regulations city and parish governments can impose through avenues such as permitting and safety standards. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Barbara Carpenter, D-Baton Rouge, anticipates that other legislators will amend the legislation to limit the scope of such regulations.
Owczarek said the bill is notable because it could have bearing on a recent lawsuit filed against the city of New Orleans over its short-term rental regulations. The lawsuit, filed by local property owners and Airbnb, claims that the city’s regulations are unconstitutional and illegally forces booking platforms to enforce regulations.
Airbnb did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.
Carpenter said the bill isn’t meant to target Airbnb. But she hopes that, if passed, the legislation would encourage local governments to regulate the industry.
She said that constituents in her Baton Rouge-area district have complained about how short-term rentals are disturbing their neighborhoods. It’s become a more urgent issue amid what she’s seen as a push to make Baton Rouge a tourist destination.
“It’s not just in the bigger cities. It’s in even the smaller cities. It’s all over Louisiana,” Carpenter said.
Another bill, SB 225, would outlaw all unlicensed short-term rentals in Louisiana, even in municipalities that don’t actively regulate them.
It would also create a pathway for homeowners and nonprofit organizations neighboring unlicensed properties to to take legal action against them. Nearby homeowners with homestead tax exemptions and certain nonprofits – like neighborhood groups – would be able to sue an individual or entity operating an unlicensed short-term rental.
Sen. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, the bill’s sponsor, said his intent is to provide an additional tool for enforcement of illegal short-term rentals.
“Because obviously, the city of New Orleans is overwhelmed and has been unable to deal with the proliferation of illegal short-term rentals,” he said.
The city’s open data portal shows that over 2,600 short-term rental licenses have been issued as of April 22. According to Inside Airbnb, a database tracking listings on the platform, there are over 7,000 total listings in New Orleans.
Duplessis said some parts of the bill need to be “tightened up” and that it’s likely to be amended as it advances through the legislature. Although his intent is enforcement, he doesn’t want it to negatively impact people who are following the rules.
“I’ve always been concerned that something like this could be … abused if not crafted properly,” Duplessis said. “And we don’t want to do that. We don’t want to do anything that incentivizes some individual or some organization to use it as a tool of harassment or to go after people we shouldn’t be going after.”
Owczarek said that bills like Duplessis’ aren’t new ideas. In fact, Duplessis said a constituent gave him the idea for the bill several years ago.
“It’s also notable, interesting, perhaps a bit sad, that it has to come to state legislative action to get the ordinances that New Orleanians have been asking for for years – pretty much 10 years now – to be addressed,” Owczarek said.
Changes to how short-term rentals are taxed have been proposed as well. A bill sponsored by Rep. Stephanie Hilferty, R-Metairie, would increase the maximum occupancy tax from 6.75% to 10% for properties in New Orleans.
Currently, the maximum rate of 6.75% is levied on short-term rentals in the city. Under current law, 75% of occupancy tax proceeds go toward infrastructure maintenance and 25% funds New Orleans & Company, the city’s marketing organization for tourism. New Orleans collected $15.5 million in revenue from the occupancy tax in 2024.
Hilferty did not respond to an interview request by publication time.