A new cap on short-term rentals is on the books in Portland, Maine.
The Portland City Council approved the new limits on Airbnb and other rentals in the city but said current landlords won't lose their short-term rental license.
Moving forward, the city will allow 1.5 percent of the roughly 18,000 rental units to operate as short-term rentals. The new limit allows for about 270 units, compared to the previous limit of 400 units.
"Preserving Portland's long-term housing stock was really a key goal," Portland City Councilor Kate Sykes said.
A housing advocate praised the change, saying families in Portland are being "hallowed out and forced to move" because of STRs. But one short-term rental host said the city should keep in mind that vacation rentals bring in millions of dollars in tourism revenue.
Below, please find Property Guard's weekly short term rental regulation round-up, highlighting state and local news regarding short term rental regulations to regulate (or prohibit) Airbnbs and other STRs.
If you want a comprehensive data solution on STR regulations in all 20,000 state and local jurisdictions, contact us here.
New and Proposed Regulations:
- New York: County officials are urging New York Governor Kathy Hochul to sign a bill passed by both state legislative houses that would require short-term home rental companies like VRBO and AirBnB to collect sales tax and hotel/motel occupancy taxes. (link)
- Bay St. Louis, Missouri: City Council members approved a new short-term rental ordinance that requires rentals to register with the city, meet certain standards and be subject to periodic inspections. (link)
- Park City, Utah: Utah legislators are expected to address a statewide housing shortage in the next legislative session, and could consider changes to short-term rental regulations. (link)
- Taos, New Mexico: The County Commission adopted new restrictions on short-term rentals, capping the number of STR permits at 400. (link)
Other Noteworthy News:
- Down in New Orleans: The City Council rejected for the first time a request for an exception to short-term rental permit limits, after approving 44 requests in the last month. (link)
- Rogue rentals: In Key Biscayne, Florida, the city is spending $20,000 a year on a service that scrapes web ads for rental properties to identify owners who are not complying with a 2011 ordinance that bans STRs of less than 15 days. (link)
- Team assembled: After hours of interviews, the Asheville, North Carolina County Board of Commissioners assembled an 11-member volunteer committee to review and recommend short-term rental regulations. (link)
