JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (WDRB) -- Historic homes line Riverside Drive in Jeffersonville along the banks of the Ohio River. It's a picturesque piece of Jeffersonville, but, lately, residents there are noticing a change.
Paul Torp said five properties within a two-block walk of his home on the historic street are now listed as short-term rentals on websites like Airbnb and Vrbo.
"Unfortunately, what we're seeing is that the developers are buying them, converting them into short-term rentals, and it really is changing the fabric of the neighborhood," Torp said. "Some of them apparently can house up to 20-30 people."
Torp is one of many Jeffersonville residents who have expressed concerns with an explosion of short-term rentals in the southern Indiana city. Right now, the city of Jeffersonville doesn't regulate short-term rentals, which came as a surprise to Alicia Lopez, who lives in Las Vegas and listed her Jeffersonville property on Airbnb and rents it to traveling nurses..
"My jaw dropped," Lopez said at realizing the lack of regulation. "When I called and said I want to operate an Airbnb in downtown Jeff, they were like 'Yup, go ahead.' And I said 'I'm sorry, I don't have to have a permit? I don't have to have a license? I don't have to register?' And he said 'Nope, we don't do that.' I was shocked."
Since there isn't any regulation, it makes the number of short-term rentals in the city difficult to track. The city's director of planning and zoning said, according to data from a monitoring service, there are about 250 short-term rental units in Jeffersonville. Approximately 100 units popped up in the last year alone, an increase of nearly 70%.
"There needs to be some kind of control, some kind of management, some kind of checks and balances of how many there really are and where are they located," Torp said.
Louisville overhauled its short-term rental rules last year, and some believe that led to the explosive growth in southern Indiana. Metro Government now requires homeowners to register their properties, mandates permits for non-owner-occupied rentals, limits the number of units in one area and caps property occupancy at 12 adults.
"I think a lot of investors jumped shipped from the properties and came across the river," Lopez said.
House Bill 1035, passed by legislators in 2018, made a crackdown like that nearly impossible in Indiana. The law bars cities from passing outright bans on short-term rentals. Cities also can't limit a homeowner from renting out a portion of their primary residence.
"Our hands are kind of tied with state law," Jeffersonville City Councilman Bill Burns said. "If it's an owner-occupied short-term rental, there's nothing we can do."
Under the law, Indiana cities can adopt limited regulations on non-owner-occupied short-term rentals. That's what Jeffersonville officials are starting to look into. The City Council is considering a one-year moratorium — or temporary pause — on new short-term rentals while it mulls new regulations. The council is expected to address the issue again at its next meeting Monday, Aug. 5.
But this wouldn't be the first time an Indiana city has done something similar. New Albany put a one-year moratorium on all new rentals in the city last year.
Lopez wants to be a good neighbor and said she's open to regulations. She believes short-term rentals should improve the community they're in.
"The downtown area needs people like me who want to come in, fix yards, put new roofs on, paint and beautify our area," Lopez said.
She also believes short-term rentals help support local businesses that depend on out-of-town visitors.
"More than 50% of our business is tourism," said Levi Donaldson, managing partner at Union Restaurant and Game Yard. "We're happy to have as many tourists and as many places for those tourists to stay nearby as possible."
Donaldson also noted the lack of hotel options near the city's downtown business district and said many of his customers walk from nearby short-term rentals to frequent his restaurant.
From long-time residents to business and tourism interests, it's a delicate balance those tasked with leading the city now must work to find.
"I think there's always a way to try to compromise and find a solution that can work for everybody," Burns said.
Related Stories:
- Jeffersonville considers moratorium on short-term rentals after residents raise concern
- New Albany committee advances proposed moratorium on new apartments
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