Updated on March 14, 2025
After a prolonged legal battle, an El Dorado County Superior Court judge on March 13, 2025, struck down Measure T, a voter-approved initiative to ban most short-term rentals in residential zones of South Lake Tahoe.
Voters approved Measure T by a margin of just 58 votes in November 2018. The measure prohibited short-term rentals in residential zones with one exception: Permanent residents were allowed to rent out their homes for up to 30 days annually. The measure was designed to be phased in over three years, with the ban on existing rentals in residential zones taking effect in 2021 and affecting more than 1,300 short-term rentals, according to the Associated Press.
The South Lake Tahoe Property Owners Group filed a lawsuit in December 2018 challenging the constitutionality of the measure by arguing that it unfairly discriminated against non-local homeowners.
Superior Court Judge Gary S. Slossberg ruled on March 13, 2025, that the measure’s permanent resident exception violated the U.S. Constitution’s Dormant Commerce Clause by favoring residents over out-of-state property owners.
The city argued that Measure T could stand by simply eliminating the permanent resident exception and banning all short-term rentals in residential zones.
However, Judge Slossberg disagreed. In his ruling, he stated that removing the exception would alter the measure’s fundamental nature, effectively creating a new policy not presented initially to voters.
According to the court ruling, Measure T was designed to increase housing affordability and curb neighborhood nuisances. But the judge found that the city could have accomplished those goals with other policies that didn’t discriminate against non-resident property owners. Those options included:
- Capping the number of STR permits
- Providing for STR and neighborhood parking permits
- Requiring minimum stays
- Implementing full-cost recovery for calls for service to STR complaints
- Requiring a contract signed by guests with penalties for noncompliance with the city’s nuisance regulations
- Requiring certified property managers available to to respond at all times
South Lake Tahoe officials have 60 days to decide whether to appeal the ruling, according to a city press release.
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