The lottery is over. After more than three years with the door shut, Clark County is building a new door.
On November 3, county commissioners voted 7 to 0 to adopt Ordinance 5427, a rewrite of the short-term rental licensing rules for unincorporated Clark County. The new rules take effect November 18.
The Lottery That Froze 1,306 Hopefuls Is Gone
The old system ran on luck. A random drawing on March 29, 2023 ranked 1,306 timely pre-applications, and the only application window closed on August 21, 2023.
It never reopened. Owners waited while a federal lawsuit over the system moved through the courts.
Ordinance 5427 kills the drawing. Complete applications for homes within 1,000 feet of each other are now decided in the order they are received, and the county must decide within 45 business days of a complete application.
- December 1, 2026: revised applications become available.
- December 15, 2026: appointment scheduling opens.
- January 5, 2027: in-person intake and processing begin.
Applications are taken in person, Monday through Thursday, at a scheduled appointment. Bring a complete application and a $45 fee.
What Did Not Change Is the Hard Part
Here is the part most hopefuls will miss. The county framed this as a process fix, not a policy change, and the tough limits stayed exactly where they were.
- The cap stays at 1 percent of the housing units in each unincorporated area.
- Licensed rentals must sit at least 1,000 feet apart, and at least 2,500 feet from a resort hotel.
- One license per owner. A license never transfers to a buyer or to a new address.
- The pending 2023 applications go first, decided under the old eligibility standards, in drawing order, ahead of every new filing.
The rules cover unincorporated Clark County only. That includes Paradise, Spring Valley, Enterprise and Sunrise Manor, and the Strip itself.
Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas run their own programs, with their own rules. A Las Vegas mailing address tells you nothing about which rule book applies.
The court fight is not over either. A federal judge blocked the county from enforcing its license requirement in December 2025, the Ninth Circuit told the district court in October to narrow that order, and Greater Las Vegas Short-Term Rental Association founder Jackie Flores called the new changes "superficial."
Your Checklist Before January 5
- Check your jurisdiction first. Run your address through the county lookup before you spend a dollar. Unincorporated county, Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas are four different games.
- Measure the distance rules. If another licensed rental sits within 1,000 feet, or a resort hotel within 2,500 feet, the cap and the map decide your fate before the county does.
- Read your HOA documents. A rental is barred in a common-interest community unless the governing documents expressly allow transient lodging. Silence is a no.
- Book on December 15 and file complete. After approval comes a $150 nonrefundable inspection fee, plus the annual license fee of $750 for three or fewer bedrooms or $1,500 for more, before the license issues.
- Answer fast. You get 14 calendar days to answer a county request for information or to schedule an inspection. Miss it and the application can be denied.
Bottom line: January 5 is a real opening, not a guarantee. The homes that win will be the ones that cleared the cap, the distances and the paperwork before the line forms.
