By Tabitha Evans Moore
Editor & Publisher
LYNCHBURG, Tenn. — Board member Glen Thomas says he knows the houses. He can picture them. He can name the streets they sit on, describe the welcome signs out front, recall the strangers’ cars parked in the driveways on weekends. In a town this small, that’s just what you know.
What he can’t do — what the Metro Utility Department Board learned Tuesday night it largely cannot do — is make those Airbnb operators pay commercial water and sewer rates for running what are, by any practical definition, commercial enterprises.
The gap between community knowledge and legal authority was the quiet tension at the center of Tuesday’s discussion — and it didn’t resolve cleanly.
What the Board Knows
Thomas told the board he had gone through Airbnb listings online, recognized houses from their photographs, and counted somewhere between 11 to 13 short-term rentals operating in Moore County that he could identify — not counting the three already on the MUD’s commercial billing rolls. He described a house near his own where the owners live in Milwaukee, the property sits empty most of the year, and guests cycle in and out by the week while a hired company handles cleaning and lawn care.
“They bought it. They’re running a business. They should pay,” MUD Board Chair Barry Posluszny said. “I guarantee you they’re filing their federal income tax and taking the deduction for painting and garbage pickup and maintenance. I guarantee you that’s what they’re doing.”
The board also discussed well-known local properties that appear on booking platforms but pay residential utility rates. The Moore County tax assessor’s office has approximately 30 short-term rentals on the tax rolls, according to information shared at the meeting by Tax Assessor Shaun Sherrill. MUD is billing three of them at commercial rates including houses t 79 Man Street, 64 Lynchburg Highway, and 784 Damron Road.
What the Rules Say
The three operators currently paying commercial rates are the ones who spoke up. Each one came forward and acknowledged they were not residing in the property — that it was being operated purely as a rental. Under the state’s current framework, that self-disclosure is what triggers commercial classification.
For everyone else, the rules are murky. The state has not set a clear threshold — a number of days, a percentage of time — that defines when a homeowner who occasionally rents crosses into commercial territory. If a property owner claims they reside there at some point during the year, MUD has no straightforward mechanism to verify or challenge that claim. What they know and what they can regulate are two different things.
Adding another layer of uncertainty: a Senate bill currently moving through Nashville would pull all short-term rentals out of the commercial classification entirely, according to Sherrill. That would effectively resolve the question by removing it. If that bill passes, even the three currently paying commercial rates would drop back to residential — regardless of what MUD decided.
What the Board Can Do
Not much — at least not right now, and not unilaterally. The county tax assessor’s office faces the same constraints. Third-party enforcement companies exist that specialize in finding and documenting unregistered short-term rentals, but for a system the size of Moore County’s, the cost — estimated at around $25,000 a year — doesn’t pencil out, especially with a Senate bill that could make the point moot.
Out of a sense of fairness, the board voted Tuesday to remove the three operators currently on commercial billing from that classification — a move that drew some discomfort but reflected a recognition that singling out the honest ones while letting everyone else pay residential rates didn’t sit right. The motion passed, with members Charles Johnston, Darrell Richards, and Glen Thomas voting yes and Barry Posluszny voting no. Greg Guinn was absent from Tuesday’s meeting.
One idea that gained quiet traction was simpler than any enforcement mechanism: put notification in the water bill and short term rentals to self-identify. The board noted that the utility already includes informational inserts with billing statements. A notice informing Airbnb operators of their rate obligations — and inviting them to self-report — would cost almost nothing and might reach the people who just don’t know.
No formal action was taken on that idea. For now, Lynchburg’s Airbnb economy runs largely on the honor system.
The MUD Board meets every second Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. at the MUD offices at 705 Fayetteville Highway. All meetings are open to the public.•
About The Lynchburg Times: The Lynchburg Times covers Moore County School Board meetings as part of its commitment to community accountability journalism. This work is support by our community partners at Barrel House Barbecue.