A controversial state bill led by Republicans to block the city of Nashville from putting in place stronger restrictions on short-term rentals died in the Tennessee Senate on Tuesday, but it came with warnings that possible state intervention isn't over.
Lacking support in committee, Sen. John Stevens, R-Huntingdon, the Senate sponsor, ended the effort for the year on legislation backed by Airbnb, HomeAway and other online hospitality companies to prohibit Nashville from issuing any kind of ban on short-term renting.
The bill — spearheaded by a home-sharing industry that has ramped up its lobbying presence in Tennessee and Metro — was drafted to stop an ordinance proposed in Nashville's Metro Council that would phase out from residential neighborhoods short-term rental properties that are not occupied by their owners.