Editorial: Will tougher code create more year-round rentals

Under current Southold Town code, homeowners who want to rent out a property can only do so for a minimum of 14 days. It was hoped that this minimum rental period would eliminate short-term rentals for weekends and three-day holidays, which property owners living nearby complained about in terms of noise and crowds.

Town officials concede that some property owners simply thumbed their noses at this 14-day minimum. Enforcement by the town was also spotty. 

Now, the Town Board is discussing strategies to better enforce violations, but also to raise the minimum number of days for a rental from 14 to 30 days. One hope is that this code change, if it ultimately goes through, will mean more homes taken off the short-term rental market and rented year-round — this in a town with severe housing needs. Such a change could produce a reliable number of long-term rentals. 

As for the 14-day minimum, Supervisor Scott Russell indicated it has seen its day. “What we were seeing was a lot of Airbnb owners were ignoring the rules, they were taking people and renting for two, three days, every weekend. There was a lot of turnover. There were many that were complying with the rules, but so many more that weren’t.”

Riverhead Town currently has a 30-day minimum and was among the first Long Island municipalities to implement a formal rental permit system that also requires a town inspection.

The Southold Town Board also discussed requiring all rental listings in both digital and print mediums to include the homeowner’s rental permit number. Penalties for violators would be stiff, involving fines possibly as high as $5,000.

These proposed changes could be ready for formal consideration at the board’s July 5 meeting. If it’s agreed they are necessary, a public hearing would then be scheduled.

What would be the impact of such changes?

For starters, hotel and bed-and-breakfast owners say the move could help them. Anyone coming to the North Fork for the weekend would have to look for a hotel room. But there may be another, perhaps more significant benefit.

It might also begin to reverse the dwindling availability of year-round rental housing. As this week’s story puts it: “More units sequestered for short-term rentals means fewer long-term rental opportunities for Southold residents and workers.”

Councilwoman Sarah Nappa sees possible opportunity here. “Potentially, maybe, we can get a few of these rentals back into the [longer term] rental market,” she said. “I do hope that these new measures that we’re discussing will discourage people from doing these rentals illegally and maybe give them a second look at saying, ‘Maybe, instead of all this hassle, I should put my house up for a year-round rental instead.’ So, hopefully, we’ll get a few of those back.”