Author
The Albuquerque City Council rejected a proposal Monday night to limit short-term rentals, marking the third time in three years a version of the policy has failed.
The 5-4 vote defeated Ordinance O-26-5, which would have required 100-foot buffer zones between rental properties. The measure failed despite last-minute changes to narrow the scope and delay enforcement.
The ordinance, originally proposed by Councilors Joaquín Baca, Tammy Fiebelkorn, Nichole Rogers and Stephanie Telles with a citywide 330-foot separation, was scaled back to a 100-foot buffer limited to Districts 2, 6 and 7, which hold over half the city’s short-term rentals.
Councilor Dan Lewis, who voted against the measure, called the ordinance an unfair limit on property rights. “It’s limiting the ability to utilize your property in a way that’s not only best for you but could be the very best thing for the neighborhood,” Lewis said.
Supporters argued that a “saturation” of rentals in historic neighborhoods like Old Town and Barelas is replacing long-term residents with transient visitors, weakening the sense of community. Baca pointed to Barelas, where he said about 70 rentals operate, contributing to population decline and school closures.
Opponents countered that the ordinance misdiagnoses the city’s housing challenges, noting short-term rentals account for only about 1% of Albuquerque’s housing stock and are not a primary driver of rising rents.
The New Mexico Short Term Rental Association opposed the ordinance. Board member Carl Vidal said the anti-competitive proposal was wrong: “We believe that all people should have the right to rent their home if they need additional income,” Vidal said.
A study by the association showed short-term rentals generated $107.8 million in direct visitor spending in Bernalillo County in 2023, creating a total economic impact of $145.5 million and supporting 3,200 jobs. Statewide impact was $1.01 billion, supporting 14,555 jobs.
Instead of new limits, critics said the city should invest in enforcement and focus on operators already violating existing laws.
A rare consensus: enforcement
Despite the split vote, councilors on both sides agreed the city is failing to enforce its existing short-term rental rules.
According to Baca, Albuquerque has about 2,000 short-term rentals, but only about 800 are registered. The remaining 1,200 operate illegally and do not pay lodgers’ tax. Councilors acknowledged that the Planning Department lacks the staffing needed to address the problem.
Council Vice-President Dan Champine asked why the city wasn’t “advocating for 30 more people in code enforcement… Instead of creating more rules and regulations and capping things, empower the people that enforce this.”
Even as his bill failed, Baca urged the city to add at least two full-time employees to the Planning Department to track down illegal operators. “No matter the outcome of this bill,” Baca said, “this body should be working on adding at least two FTEs to our planning department. It is wrong that we have that many STRs that are not registering, not paying their bills.”
The council voted down similar ordinances in September 2024 and August 2023.
Share this story and start a conversation
