Executive Summary
Birmingham, Michigan banned short-term rentals outright, with commissioners voting unanimously to bar any rental under 30 days starting seven days after the vote. Current licenses expire April 15, 2027 and won't be renewed. Nashville sent warning notices to 14 unpermitted STRs in a single week and gave owners until mid-November to comply, in a city with more than 11,000 listings and fewer than 7,050 permits. Saranac Lake, New York stopped accepting new STRs for up to a year while it checks whether existing rentals follow the rules. Sarasota, Florida is moving to add about 50 downtown properties to its vacation rental program, and the local Realtors association says the new fees would raise annual registration costs by 70%. In Las Vegas, a federal appeals court said the injunction blocking Clark County's STR enforcement goes too far, but noted the county hasn't accepted a new license application since its only window closed in 2023.
New Regulations
Birmingham, Michigan
Ban / Zoning · Published October 20, 2026
Birmingham City Commission voted unanimously on October 19 to permanently ban short-term rentals, amending its zoning and city code so no unit can be advertised, listed or rented for less than 30 consecutive days, with the ban taking effect seven days after approval. The city passed a six-month moratorium in April after a shooting at a party at an East Lincoln Street rental, and existing licenses stay valid until they expire April 15, 2027 but will not be renewed.
→ Source: Birmingham officials OK ban on short-term rentals
Nashville, Tennessee
Enforcement / Permitting · Published October 18, 2026
Metro Nashville sent warning notices to 14 properties between October 11 and 17 for operating short-term rentals without a valid permit, putting it on pace to pass the 21 notices issued in all of the prior month, with most cited properties near downtown in Metro Council Districts 5 and 21. Owners who were warned have until mid-November to act or face further enforcement, and AirDNA counts more than 11,000 advertised STRs in the city against fewer than 7,050 active permits, though that gap has narrowed since July 2025, when unpermitted properties nearly doubled licensed ones.
→ Source: Metro Nashville cracking down on short-term rentals
Saranac Lake, New York
Moratorium · Published October 19, 2026
Saranac Lake's Village Board of Trustees voted last week to stop allowing new short-term rentals for up to a year while officials check whether existing rentals comply with the village's 2023 STR law, which bars most corporations from owning new STRs and requires at least one owner to live in the village. Officials said the pause gives staff time to confirm compliance during the November 1 to January 15 permit renewal window, and one application already pending is not affected.
→ Source: Saranac Lake pauses new short-term rentals
Blacksburg, Virginia
Enforcement / Licensing · Published October 19, 2026
Blacksburg Town Council unanimously updated its homestay ordinance, replacing the $1,000 criminal penalty for unregistered or noncompliant short-term rentals with a $500 civil penalty to match state code, which the town attorney said is easier to enforce. The update also lets a lessee operate one short-term rental in town with the owner's permission, ending the rule that only an owner living in the home could host, and the town issued 75 STR licenses for 2026.
→ Source: Penalty for a noncompliant Airbnb just got cheaper in Blacksburg
Developing Regulations
Clark County, Nevada
Legal / Licensing · Published October 14, 2026
A federal appeals court found the December 2025 injunction won by the Greater Las Vegas Short-Term Rental Association was justified but too broad because it "effectively authorizes anyone in the County to operate unlicensed short-term rentals," and noted the county's license portal opened for only one window in 2022-2023, with no new applications accepted or processed to completion since. The county says a narrower order will let it enforce against disruptive rentals and scheduled an ordinance amendment for introduction at the October 20 Board of County Commissioners meeting, after voting unanimously in August to bar platforms like Airbnb from taking payments for unlicensed STRs.
→ Source: Federal appeals court hands down ruling on Clark County short-term rental process
Sarasota, Florida
Licensing / Fees · Published October 19, 2026
Sarasota city commissioners passed the first reading of two ordinances: one extends vacation rental registration, inspection, and occupancy rules to an estimated 50 properties in the Downtown Neighborhood zone, including parts of Gillespie Park and Park East, and the other overhauls the compliance program with fees set to cover about 97.4% of its annual costs, including two new staff positions. The Sarasota Realtors Association says the plan means a 70% increase in the cost of an annual registration, the city had 660 vacation rental registrations as of early October (up 86 from a year earlier), and both ordinances return to the commission November 2.
→ Source: Sarasota commissioners advance vacation rental rules, proposed fee increases
