Public Meeting Oct. 18 on Short-Term Rentals Regulation

Communications Director

Kristin Farley
[email protected]
(865) 215-2589

400 Main St., Room 691
Knoxville, TN 37902

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Public Meeting Oct. 18 on Short-Term Rentals Regulation

Posted: 10/11/2016
Chief Policy Officer and Deputy to the Mayor Bill Lyons and other City staff will hold a public meeting on Oct. 18 at 5:30 p.m. at Central United Methodist Church (201 E. Third Ave.) to discuss the regulation of Short-Term Rentals such as Airbnb, etc.

The use of online platforms like Airbnb and Home Away has led to an explosion in the market for Short-Term Rentals (STRs), in which private citizens rent out rooms or entire residences to visitors for periods of a few days to a few weeks. These types of rentals are already occurring in Knoxville, but they are largely illegal. 

Like cities across the country, the City of Knoxville is working to develop an ordinance to permit and regulate STRs. The ordinance will need to protect the quality of life in City neighborhoods; ensure the safety of visitors and the accountability of property owners; and create a level playing field in which STR operators pay the same sales and occupancy taxes paid by traditional hotels, motels and bed & breakfast inns.

City staff have identified the major issues to be resolved in the ordinance and some possible approaches to them.

Click here to view a summary of those issues and approaches.

Staff will seek input at this public meeting. Anyone unable to attend or wishing to comment further can send thoughts, concerns and questions to [email protected]. (Use the subject line “Short-Term Rentals.”)

Anyone needing a disability accommodation to attend the Oct. 18 meeting should contact the City’s ADA Coordinator, Stephanie Cook, at [email protected] or 865-215-2034. For an English interpreter, contact the City Law Department at 865-215-2050.