Lexington city council members heard an update on how short-term rentals in the city are being enforced during a committee meeting Tuesday.
An ordinance to regulate Lexington’s short term rentals like Airbnbs was passed two years ago. Since then, the city has been working on ways to report non-compliant operators.
City officials say 16 citations have been issued, mostly for operating without a license. The city is working on sending notices to 78 other properties.
A total of 979 short-term rentals are listed online in Lexington. The city itself reports having 712 licenses collected.
Lexington Director of Revenue Wes Holbrook says that can be because either operators are still learning the rules, or are trying to skirt them.
“There are some that just have done a really thorough job of making sure that their listing doesn't have any identifying characteristics, and it makes it extremely hard for us to see where those are,” Holbrook said.
The city is currently taking steps to get renewed licenses for all its short-term rentals, which are required annually. That process has been delayed by January’s winter storms.
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