EASTVILLE, Va. — The Northampton Board of Supervisors, at its regular meeting on Tuesday night, decided to return the issue of regulating short term rentals (STRs) to the Planning Commission. The decision came following a recommendation by Michelle Clayton, the County’s attorney, in light of recent legislative changes.
According to Clayton, “The new law (SB 544) represents a significant change, and it would be prudent for us to revisit the issue through the Planning Commission. Our previous work has laid a foundation, and there will be ample opportunity for community input.”
The Virginia General Assembly recently passed SB 544, introducing new regulations for STRs. Key provisions include grandfathering existing STRs, exemptions for primary residences, establishment of an STR registry, and relaxed regulations for STRs represented by licensed Virginia Real Estate Agents.
During the meeting, the Board unanimously decided to reject the current proposal under discussion and subsequently passed a resolution to refer the matter back to the Planning Commission. This decision aims to align local regulations with the new state law while ensuring community input is considered.
“Short-term rentals such as Airbnb could face new rules in N.Y. – Legislation that would establish new protocols and data requirements for companies is headed to the governor’s desk”
By Dan Clark, Capitol Bureau, Albany, NY Times Union
June 12, 2024
ALBANY — People who rent out their homes through short-term rental services such as Airbnb could soon have a new set of rules to follow after the state Legislature last week approved a bill targeted at the industry.
The measure would require property owners who host those units and the services that facilitate those bookings to register with the state and regularly provide data on their activities.
The bill is intended to help localities across the state better understand the prevalence of short-term rentals in their communities and assess how they might impact housing supply.
“If you believe short-term rentals have nothing to do with the housing crisis, you have not stepped foot into the communities across much of our state,” said state Sen. Michelle Hinchey, a Democrat from the Hudson Valley.
“This is a billion-dollar industry,” Fahy said.
“What other industry in this country do we not have any clue what’s going on?”
“It’s stunning to me.”
The bill mirrors the elements of a local law that took effect last year in New York City that also required hosts to register with the city but enacted standards stricter than the state bill, such as a requirement that hosts be on-site during a stay.
The local law was intended to stop hosts from renting out entire homes they don’t live in.
There were more than 10,000 short-term rentals in New York City before that requirement took effect.
By the end of that same month, the number had plunged to 405, according to city data.
Opponents of the bill have viewed that as a lost opportunity for travelers seeking cheaper accommodations and the revenue for hosts that come with them.
Supporters view each unit taken off the market as one that could now be available for residents to rent or own.
That’s also why other municipalities have enacted similar rules in New York.
“Short-term rentals such as Airbnb could face new rules in N.Y. – Legislation that would establish new protocols and data requirements for companies is headed to the governor’s desk,” continued …
By Dan Clark, Capitol Bureau, Albany, NY Times Union
June 12, 2024
The short-term rental industry has been around in different iterations for decades — think vacation rentals and weekend getaways — but didn’t explode in popularity until about 15 years ago.
Because of that relatively recent boom, those rentals have largely gone unregulated across the country as a patchwork of local laws has emerged in the market.
Several municipalities throughout New York have already set up their own registration systems with local rules.
After first establishing a moratorium on short-term rentals, the village of Lake Placid approved a local law last year that, in part, banned new short-term rentals in which the hosts weren’t also living on the premises, and capped the number of guests per unit.
The city of Buffalo has had a local law on the books for five years that formalized an application process for hosting short-term rentals and regulated where they could be located.
But for municipalities in New York without similar regulations, short-term rentals are akin to the wild west of the hospitality industry.
Guests at those properties don’t have to pay the same sales and occupancy taxes required at a hotel and don’t have to seek permits from their municipality to operate.
And there is no cap on the number of homes someone can purchase to use as short-term rentals.
The bill approved by the Legislature would change all of that in an effort to level the playing field with hotels and provide more transparency for local governments.
“People are going to say, ‘It’s about time’ — because a lot of neighborhoods, like here in Albany, are really upset,” Fahy said.
Airbnb declined to comment after the bill was passed.
The company was against the legislation because it would require hosts that use their service to potentially keep track of two registration and regulation systems: one from the state and one from their municipality.
That concern was echoed by the Travel Technology Association, a trade group for travel tech companies; Airbnb is a member.
The bill “will make travel more expensive, reduce the income potential for thousands of New Yorkers who rent their homes to make ends meet, and impose a complex system of regulation that will hurt the upstate economy,” said Laura Chadwich, the CEO of the association.