Birmingham commissioners vote to ban short-term rentals citywide
The Birmingham City Commission voted unanimously Monday night to permanently ban rentals of less than 30 days, days before a six-month moratorium was set to run out. Existing licenses stay valid until they expire April 15, 2027, and won't be renewed.
By OCJ Staff
Birmingham will no longer allow short-term rentals anywhere in the city. The City Commission voted unanimously Monday, Oct. 19, to make the ban permanent, WXYZ and WDIV reported.
The vote came a few days before the city's six-month moratorium on new short-term rental licenses was set to expire, WXYZ and WWJ Newsradio reported.
What changed
Commissioners amended both the city's zoning ordinance and its code of ordinances, WDIV reported. Under the new language, no rental unit may be advertised, listed or rented for less than 30 days in a row.
The ban takes effect seven days after approval, WXYZ reported. Short-term rental licenses already issued stay valid until they expire on April 15, 2027. They will not be renewed, according to WXYZ. WWJ Newsradio described April 15, 2027, as the date the ban takes full effect.
WDIV reported that licenses approved before the moratorium are the ones that stay valid. No new licenses have been issued since the moratorium passed, the station reported.
None of the reports described penalties for violating the new rules.
How the city got here
- April 11: A party at a short-term rental on East Lincoln ended in gunfire. Three people were charged, WDIV reported. WWJ reported the three men were charged with assault with intent to murder. No one was hurt, Detroit News reporter Max Bryan said on Michigan Public in May. Charged people are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
- April 27: The commission passed the six-month moratorium on rentals of 30 days or less, according to WDIV.
- June: Videos of a crowded pool party spread online and restarted the debate. WDIV reported the event was a pool rental, not a short-term rental, and the city found it broke zoning rules. WDIV reported the host and the homeowner were each cited for noise violations. WWJ reported the homeowner was charged with multiple misdemeanors. The Journal has not confirmed which description is complete.
City leaders held several meetings after April to draft and revise the rules, WDIV reported. Birmingham had about 100 short-term rentals in May, Bryan said on Michigan Public.
What residents said
Carter Drewry, who lives next door to a short-term rental, spoke in favor of the ban. She told commissioners she didn't know the house was being rented for short stays when she moved in this year, and that late-night disturbances had cost her family sleep, according to WXYZ and WDIV.
"We should be able to sleep in our homes and feel safe in our neighborhoods," Drewry said, according to WXYZ.
Karen Wilson of the Greater Metropolitan Association of Realtors spoke against a blanket ban. She argued that responsible operators should be allowed to offer lodging under city rules, as hotels do, and that a blanket ban would not fix the underlying problems, according to WXYZ and WDIV.
"Violence and other disturbances are broader issues in the community," Wilson said, according to WDIV.
WXYZ summed up the debate this way: backers of the ban pointed to neighborhood disruption and safety, while critics wanted the city to regulate problem properties rather than prohibit every short-term rental.
Sources: WXYZ (Megan Lee, Oct. 19); WDIV/ClickOnDetroit (Shawnte Passmore, Oct. 20); WWJ Newsradio (Oct. 20); Michigan Public (May 7, 2026).