MI House Bill 4722 Currently Being Hotly Debated in the Michigan Senate
by Scott Brown
Representing the continuation of an intense discussion that has been on-going in our state capitol for well over a year, advocates representing local units of government and Michigan’s powerful real estate industry have thus far failed to reach a compromise in regards to controversial short-term rental property targeted legislation that was passed by the Michigan House of Representatives in October of 2021.
The debate in Lansing over how to regulate the steadily increasing number of homes listed on popular sites like Airbnb and Vrbo comes as many Michigan property owners, particularly those with homes located in popular lakeshore communities, have earned a substantial amount of money in recent years while serving as increasingly popular alternatives to hotels, motels, and bed and breakfast sites.
The bill currently being debated in the Michigan Senate is House Bill 4722 that passed after an extended period of intense debate in the Michigan House of Representatives last year. The legislation acts to designate short-term rentals as residential properties that are exempt from special or conditional use permitting. House Bill 4722 is now being considered by the MI Senate Committee on Regulatory Reform
It is important to point out that although the bill is very popular with Michigan’s real estate industry the controversial legislation is adamantly opposed by several state associations and organizations, including Michigan Townships Association, and the Michigan Municipal League.
Following the lead of the Michigan Association of Realtors, for example, the Grand Haven-based West Michigan Lakeshore Association of Realtors (WMLAR) strongly supports passage of the bill.
Michigan Waterfront Alliance would like the readers of this e-newsletter to know that we are firmly committed to the idea that all decisions regarding short-term rental policy within a particular community should made at the local level by local officials, and is therefore adamantly opposed to House Bill 4722 becoming state law. Our readers should also know that Michigan Waterfront Alliance will direct its Lansing-based lobbying firm,- Karoub Associates – to pro-actively lobby members of the Michigan state senate against passage of this unfair legislation.
Michigan Waterfront Alliance would also encourage our readers to contact their respective state senator in regards to this important statewide issue.
As currently written, Michigan House Bill 4722 has four main components that would act to:
- Bar local governments from enacting or enforcing ordinances that would place an outright ban on short-term rentals;
- Limit the total number of short-term rentals to 30 percent of all residential units;
- Allow local governments to continue to have the authority to limit an owner or ownership group to two short-term rental properties;
- Allow local units of government to regulate and inspect short-term rental units for noise, advertising, traffic, or other disruptive conditions.
Click here to read a summary of MI House Bill 4722 as passed by the MI House of Representatives.
To find your MI State Senator, and their contact information, click here