Knox County considers laws for Airbnb, VRBO rentals. What to know

Silas Sloan, Knoxville News Sentinel
Updated ·2 min read

Knox County doesn't regulate short-term rentals listed on sites like Airbnb and VRBO. One Knox County commissioner wants that to change.

The commissioners heard a resolution at the Aug. 21 work session that would establish short-term rental rules and a plan to enforce those rules.

The resolution had unanimous support from the commissioners, who voted without discussion to put it on the consent list for voting at the Aug. 28 county commission meeting.

The county doesn't have an estimate of how many short-term rentals it has.

The agenda item was proposed by county Commissioner Carson Dailey, who told Knox News he has received multiple phone calls from residents complaining about out-of-state homeowners establishing short-term rentals and hosting unruly guests.

Dailey suggested such regulations as:

  • Requiring a permit to operate a short-term rental

  • Requiring a business license to operate a short-term rental

  • Limiting occupants

  • Establishing enforceable violations

Dailey said creating these regulations likely would take months.

Those rules and regulations would only apply to short-term rentals in the unincorporated county and outside of the Knoxville city limits.

How many Airbnbs are in Knox County?

According to AirDNA, a website that tracks short-term rental listings, there are an estimated 1,072 in Knoxville and Knox County. The county doesn't track short-term rentals.

As of July 24, the city of Knoxville had 336 permitted short-term rentals, according to Knoxville Department of Finance Revenue Administrator Donna Dyer.

Assuming all city listings on AirDNA's website are permitted, that would leave an estimated 706 short-term rentals in the unincorporated county.

What's next?

The resolution will be on the county commission's consent list, where it will likely be approved without any further discussion.

If it is approved, the Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission would create a set of proposed regulations.

The planning commission would vote on those rules first. If they are approved, the county commission then would vote on the regulations.

Silas Sloan is the growth and development reporter. Email silas.sloan@knoxnews.com. Twitter @silasloan. Instagram @knox.growth.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Are Knox County Tennessee Airbnb laws coming?