Final Four 2024: What neighbors can expect from short-term rentals during the event

Neighborhoods across the Valley may get noisier this week as hundreds of thousands of basketball fans arrive for Arizona’s second Final Four contest.

They will fill up the region’s short-term rentals, prompting some cities to ramp up oversight of Airbnb-style properties to prevent things from getting out of hand.

Short-term rentals are typically houses that people rent for fewer than 30 days using online booking services like Airbnb and Vrbo. Combined, those websites list nearly 1,000 properties in the Phoenix area that are available for rent from Friday to next Tuesday, which range from $30 to $8,000 per night.

The short-term rental industry has long been the bane of quiet Valley neighborhoods as rowdy guests disrupt nearby residents with loud parties, and officials blame the rentals for everything from violent crime to rising housing costs.

The issues began in 2016 when state lawmakers gutted local control of the industry by prohibiting cities from banning short-term rentals or implementing virtually any rules. It caused the number of rental properties to skyrocket across the region.

Lawmakers returned some local control in late 2022 when they allowed local officials to mandate short-term rental permits and punish properties that did not register, a power that cities quickly embraced by adopting their own short-term rental codes and working out the kinks of enforcement.

Implementing the new rules got off to a rocky start for many Valley cities, but ultimately bore fruit in 2023. There were few rental incidents during the Super Bowl and problematic properties got hit with sanctions — but the influx of visitors for the April 6 and 8 Final Four games will be another stress test for cities.

The Arizona Republic reached out to Phoenix, Glendale, Tempe and Scottsdale to ask about their short-term rental rules, how they plan to monitor the properties this weekend and what residents should do if they live near a disruptive property.

Here’s what they said.

Phoenix threatens ‘hefty fines’ for rule breakers ahead of Final Four

Phoenix put out a press release on Wednesday “reminding residents that they will face consequences if they rent their home as an unpermitted short-term rental,” which include thousands of dollars in fines for repeat offenders.

The city was late to adopt short-term rental permit requirements, approving its policy last fall instead of in early 2023 like many of its East Valley neighbors. It also didn’t start enforcing those rules until this year.

But Phoenix has become one of the Valley’s more prolific enforcers of its short-term rental regulations. It’s opened “over 900 code enforcement cases and (issuing) more than 600 notices” for non-compliant properties over the past four months, according to the city’s press release.

And those who get busted running an unregistered short-term rental in Phoenix stand to lose serious cash. The first violation is a $500 fine or one night’s rent, whichever is greater. After that, each violation can cost the property owner as much as $3,500.

They can also be charged $2,000 if the police have to show up because of a rowdy party, as well as have their permit suspended for a year if there are three separate violations or one major incident such as a violent felony taking place on the property.

"Illegal short-term rentals pose safety concerns for our residents,” said Phoenix’s Neighborhood Services Department Director Spencer Self. “We want to warn those preparing to offer unpermitted short-term rentals that we are actively enforcing the ordinance and issuing notices, which can lead to hefty fines.”

Phoenix residents can report short-term rental violations by submitting a complaint online at myPHX311, or by emailing blight@phoenix.gov.

Glendale: Final Four host city has low short-term rental compliance

Short-term rental issues have been most prevalent in East Valley communities, but Glendale could also get hit with some party house problems this weekend because the Final Four is taking place at State Farm Stadium. The city expects roughly 140,000 visitors to show up for the tournament.

Glendale began requiring short-term rentals to get a city permit in January 2023, but only about 470 of the roughly 2,000 short-term rentals operating in Glendale are currently registered, according to city figures and rental market data from AirDNA.

That’s a compliance rate of less than 25%, which is much lower than other cities like Tempe and Scottsdale where more than 70% of rentals are registered. Such a low rate could make it harder for police and neighbors to identify short-term rentals and keep an eye on rental hot spots.

Glendale’s City Manager’s Office told The Republic that the city isn’t taking any special steps to oversee short-term rental monitoring during the Final Four, writing that “it will be normal monitoring as usual.”

Glendale residents can file a complaint about a property that’s being disruptive or report an unregistered short-term rental online at this website.

Scottsdale PD’s Short-Term Rental Unit ‘staffed with additional officers’ for the Final Four

Scottsdale leaders have been among the state’s most outspoken critics of short-term rentals.

They successfully spearheaded the effort to gain permit power in 2022, are currently leading a statewide push to further expand cities’ regulatory power and are crafting some new city rules that could give police more authority to shut down loud gatherings later this year.

Nearly three-quarters of Scottsdale’s 4,100 short-term rentals are registered. Plus, the number of short-term rentals operating in the city has consistently dropped since March 2023, when there was an all-time high of 4,400 properties operating in the city.

That registration rate has allowed Scottsdale to track short-term rentals and be particularly aggressive with enforcement, with city staffers citing nearly 2,8000 properties for permit violations in 2023.

The police department also has a special “Short-Term Rental Unit” whose job it is to focus exclusively on rental properties that break city rules. City Spokesperson Kelly Corsette said the unit “will be staffed with additional officers and ready to respond to nuisance parties, excessive noise, or disturbances” during the Final Four.

Corsette added that Scottsdale may see a 10% uptick in visitors this weekend because that’s what the city experienced when the 2017 Final Four was hosted in the Valley.

The city published a short-term rental guide for residents that outlines how to handle issues that could crop up during the tournament this weekend. It includes a breakdown of who residents should contact based on the specific problem at hand.

Tempe unconcerned about visitor uptick, has high compliance rate

Tempe has the highest short-term rental compliance rate of the four cities included in this article, with nearly 80% of its total 900 short-term rentals being permitted. The city’s rental licensing rules took effect in March 2023.

Tempe became the first Valley city to use the most serious short-term rental penalty available under state law when it suspended a property’s permit for a year after just one major incident.

The property in question is a four-bedroom home tucked away in a cul-de-sac at 1988 East Arboles Drive. It was the site of a wild party last May that ended in gunfire, prompting Tempe officials to yank that owner’s permit in August.

City Spokesperson Kris Baxter-Ging said that the city doesn’t need to take any extra steps to enforce short-term rental rules this weekend, writing in an email that “Tempe is very accustomed to a high number of visitors this time of year so nothing extra is being done for the Final Four.”

Tempe residents can file a short-term rental complaint on the city’s website. Baxter-Ging added that “if there is something happening that requires immediate action, depending on the circumstances people should call either 9-1-1 or the non-emergency number at 480-350-8311.”

Where is Final Four being held? What to know about Glendale, State Farm Stadium

Reporter Sam Kmack covers Tempe, Scottsdale and Chandler. Follow him on X @KmackSam or reach him at sam.kmack@arizonarepublic.com.

Reporters Taylor Seely and Shawn Raymundo contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix short-term rentals filling up for Final Four. What to expect