Lexington’s regulation of short-term rental properties, including limits on how many can operate in a neighborhood, have survived for another year. In its final session before adjournment Friday, the state Senate failed to accept House amendments to Senate Bill 61 that would have prevented cities from limiting the number of short-term rentals.
This legislation was pushed by Airbnb lobbyists. They and Republican legislators supporting them wanted to take away local control of this local issue by arguing that it violated the property rights of people who want to turn a residence they own into a short-term rental. Opponents — including our own Democratic legislators, Rep. Anne Gay Donworth and Sen. Reggie Thomas — argued that the law would take away local governments’ ability to decide local issues and violate the property rights of people who want to live in stable neighborhoods. They also noted that it would push up home prices and long-term rental rates, and reduce the already short supply of permanent housing.
The Senate Bill 61 amendments were the third attempt to push through the ban on local control this session after earlier attempts in the Senate and House failed. Sen. Steve West, a Paris Republican, was the main force behind this legislation, and he had introduced a similar ban last year that never got a committee hearing. Expect him to try again when the General Assembly meets next in January 2026.