Short-term rental regulations fail in City Council 

A proposed ordinance that would have put restrictions on short-term rentals in Albuquerque failed in the City Council on Monday, the third time such a policy has floundered.

“This doesn’t level the playing field,” said Councilor Dan Lewis, who voted down the ordinance.

The bill would have restricted permitting for short-term rentals, like Airbnbs and Vrbos, forcing rentals to be at least 330 feet apart, roughly one city block.

Proponents said such a rule would alleviate an Airbnb takeover in neighborhoods popular with tourists like Old Town and Nob Hill.

“This is a reasonable approach for an issue that affects a very small part of our city in a very big way,” said Councilor Joaquín Baca, who sponsored the legislation.

The proposed ordinance ultimately failed along familiar lines in a 4-5 vote, with more progressive-leaning Councilors Tammy Fiebelkorn, Stephanie Telles, Nichole Rogers and Baca voting yes and more conservative-leaning Councilors Lewis, Brooke Bassan, Dan Champine, Renée Grout and Council President Klarissa Peña voting no.

Before the vote, numerous short-term rental owners took to the podium to protest the proposed ordinance, saying it would affect their livelihoods and that it mischaracterized owners as greedy and detached from their communities. 

“I am not a faceless corporation, I am a neighbor,” said short-term rental owner Darron Su.

Responding to owners' complaints, Councilor Telles said the legislation is not meant to target or penalize small business owners. Any pre-existing permitted rentals would be excluded from the 330-foot rule as long as the permit is renewed.

“Listen, we’re not cracking down on small STR owners, right?” Telles said. “We want that. We want a 'small is beautiful' economy in Albuquerque where we’re supporting our local entrepreneurs. This is a guardrail.”

Other public commenters echoed Telles' sentiments, expressing anxiety over out-of-state owners and corporations.

Proponents said that the lack of regulation for short-term rentals was pushing local families out of neighborhoods so that out-of-state owners could turn a profit on properties that are only occupied for a few weeks or months out of the year.

“I want us to penalize the land speculators who are sitting on vacant property (by) holding the reins on short-term rentals and landlords' greed,” said Trevor Selbee during public comment.

Additionally, Baca said the ordinance is necessary because many short-term rental owners are not playing by the rules, dodging permitting requirements and not paying lodgers taxes. As an example, Baca pointed to a dip in revenue from lodgers taxes during October, which is typically Albuquerque's biggest tourism season because of the Balloon Fiesta.

"We had a record year," Baca said.

New regulations are nothing to worry about, Baca said, unless an owner is already breaking the law and refuses to get into compliance.

Other councilors agreed that the short-term rental economy has gone unchecked in Albuquerque, but said that the solution was not more regulation — as the city already struggles with enforcement.

“Why are we not saying we need code enforcement with another 30 people?” said Councilor Champine. “So that we can go after the bad rentals, the bad landlords.”

Before the vote, Baca said that regardless of the outcome, he would support any measure to better staff Code Enforcement and catch owners dodging the law. 

With another failed vote, this is the third time such a measure has lost steam. Similar ordinances that sought to regulate the number of short-term rentals in Albuquerque failed in both 2024 and 2023. 

Gillian Barkhurst is the local government reporter for the Journal. She can be reached at gbarkhurst@abqjournal.com.