Bella Vista is a scenic and affordable city in Northwest Arkansas, and one of the best places to live in the country. It’s no wonder many people are buying homes here, including those who’ll use it for short-term rentals. Before you do so, however, you must be aware of the latest rules.
Bella Vista is putting a cap on the number of short-term rentals in the city. This will allow only 600 houses for rental for 30 days or less. If you intend to rent your property for 30 days or more and if it’s owner-occupied, this new rule doesn’t apply.
In this article, I’ll discuss the latest housing news in Bella Vista, which affects short-term rentals. I’ll also share the reasons I believe these new rules are good.
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The Rise of Short-Term Rentals in Bella Vista
Over the years, short-term rentals have been a growing industry in Arkansas, including Bella Vista. Airbnbs and Vrbos are available for those who are looking for vacation rentals in the city.
Bella Vista recognizes the importance of these rentals for economic development. Nonetheless, the city is also active in enacting new rules to regulate the industry because this will protect the owners, renters, and the community in general.
In the past ten years or so, Bella Vista has experienced massive development, which has fueled the increase in housing projects.
In the 1960s, Bella Vista was designed to be a retirement community. Recently, however, there have been exorbitant developments to make Bella Vista a better place to live for everyone.
Some of these developments include the following:
- Extensive trail systems
- Golf courses
- Recreational centers, including pools and pickleball courts
Bella Vista has been getting a lot of attention lately, and one of the reasons for this is the development in the surrounding areas, including Bentonville and Fayetteville. These developments have also helped fuel the increase in properties in Bella Vista available for short-term rental.
If you’re an outdoorsy person who doesn’t like biking (or hiking), check out my other article about five different outdoor activities that don’t include biking or hiking.
Changes in Bella Vista’s Short-Term Rental Rules
Recently, there has been a big change in the rules for Bella Vista’s short-term rentals. So, if you’re buying a house in the city to rent out short-term, you should be aware of the latest rules.
Based on a new ordinance, Bella Vista has a maximum number of 600 short-term rentals. At the time of writing, it’s estimated there are 460 to 480 houses in the city for short-term rental.
If you want to apply for a permit, note the requirements, which include the following:
- Name, address, email, and phone number of the property owner and local contact, if they’re not the same.
- A report from licensed personnel approving the property’s septic system.
- Proof of payment of applicable local taxes.
- Insurance.
- Copy of the site plan.
It’s also important that we clarify what exactly a short-term rental is. Based on the ordinance, a short-term rental is 30 days or less. So, if you want to rent your home for more than 30 days, it’s not a short-term rental, and the new ordinance doesn’t affect your property.
More so, the cap doesn’t apply to owner-occupied rental properties. To be considered owner-occupied, the house must be your primary residence. They will verify if the property is owner-occupied or not.
There is a permitting process for short-term rentals, so it’s best to get in early before reaching the cap. Otherwise, you won’t be able to rent your property for 30 days or less.
Why the New Short-Term Rules in Bella Vista Are Good
While there can be differences in opinion, I believe these new short-term rental rules are good.
To support my assertion in favor of the new rule, let’s take a quick look at the case of Eureka Springs. The latter had the same rule a few years ago. Eureka Springs is a very transient and touristy city, and short-term rentals encouraged a lot of tourists. However, they leave and go, which makes it impossible to build a city.
In the sections below, I’ll discuss why the new short-term rentals in Bella Vista are good:
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Allows the Building of a Cohesive Community
If people keep flocking to Bella Vista to buy houses and convert them into short-term rentals, you cannot build a cohesive community. As with the case of Eureka Springs, you’ll have mostly transient people.
With plenty of short-term rentals, you can’t have people always show up, such as for a game of pickleball or racketball.
Putting a cap on short-term rentals makes it possible to create a tighter-knit community in Bella Vista.
It Drives More Revenue To Hotels and Motels
There are no hotels in Bella Vista, which makes short-term rentals your only accommodation of choice within the city. However, you’ll find hotels and motels in the surrounding areas, including Bentonville and Rogers.
If Bella Vista doesn’t cap short-term rentals in the city, there will be an over-supply of accommodation, and it will hurt the competition, which can be bad for the industry.
When you have a lot of short-term rentals, the hotels suffer because this is their business model – accommodating people looking for a short-term stay. Short-term rentals are more flexible since they attract people looking for medium- or long-term accommodations.
By limiting the short-term rentals in Bella Vista, more revenues are pushed in Bentonville and Rogers. This is not only for accommodation but also for recreational centers and other businesses that rely on tourism. There will, therefore, be an incentive for people to build hotels surrounding Bella Vista.
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It Might Reduce House Prices in Bella Vista
This is more of a personal theory. Out-of-state investors can just buy homes and short-term rent them. In theory, it might stabilize or reduce the prices of houses in the area. This is because fewer investors are coming in to buy homes because of the imposed limit on the number of short-term rentals.
By discouraging investors with lots of money, the new rule can encourage families with a limited budget to look for affordable properties in Bella Vista.
Wrapping Up
With the new regulations, Bella Vista is putting a cap on the number of rental properties in the area. So, if you want to buy a home in the city to rent out for less than 30 days, you need to make it to the list of 600 licensed properties. This rule is helping to build a more cohesive community, driving more revenues to hotels and motels, and reducing home prices.