This letter highlights the importance of enforcing the City of New Orleans (City) short-term rental regulations. This letter will also address the potential for the City to collect a significant amount of money from fines for short-term rental violations. The Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) concern with the City’s ongoing short-term rental issues is primarily focused on the City’s lack of enforcement of its own short-term rental regulations. If implemented effectively, the City’s new plan to quadruple the number of City workers dedicated to short-term rental enforcement could vastly increase the number of violations brought up for administrative hearings, deterring illegal short-term rentals.

For the 12 illegal short-term rentals identified by the OIG, the auditors reviewed all nights booked for the year ending on December 31, 2022. Per the terms of the above-described ordinance, the City may be able to levy and collect a minimum fine of $500 per night, which could result in fines of at least $519,500 for the year 2022