This week's update covers new laws, permit requirements, and regulation news for hosts in:

• Albuquerque, New Mexico

• Southold Town, New York

• Santa Fe County, New Mexico

• Austin, Texas

• Escondido, California

• New York City, New York

You can watch the video versions of this week's regulation here on YouTube.

Or listen to the audio on Apple Podcast or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Albuquerque 

Albuquerque is proposing legislation to cap the number of short-term rental permits at 1,800 in an attempt to prevent housing units from leaving the long-term rental market. The city has seen a spike of 400 short-term rentals between September 2022 and February 2023. The legislation would also limit owners to 3 permits each, require a local manager for rentals, and prohibit corporations from obtaining permits. Some owners oppose the 3 permit limit, arguing it restricts their business. The city says the cap can help ensure new accessory dwelling units are used for long-term rentals. This proposed legislation follows other New Mexico cities like Santa Fe that have also implemented permit caps.

Southold Town

Southold Town on Long Island's North Fork is increasing fines from $500 to $5000 for renting a home for fewer than 14 nights. The town also pushed to raise the minimum stay length from 14 days to 30 days, but the proposal was voted down. Local officials hope stricter rules will increase housing stock, but real estate agents think most owners are not investors and use rentals just to offset costs while on vacation themselves.

Santa Fe County

A group of Santa Fe County short-term rental property owners have filed a federal lawsuit challenging a county ordinance passed in October 2022 that imposes restrictions on short-term rentals. The group claims the rules, including noise limits and parking regulations, violate their constitutional rights to due process, privacy, and property rights. Their attorney argues the rules unfairly target short-term rentals as "commercial" when long-term rentals also profit from housing. The lawsuit alleges the ordinance benefits hotels by discouraging short-term rental competition and stops STR hosts from serving tourists who can't afford hotels. The property owners say they want to protect their rights and provide authentic Santa Fe hospitality.

Austin

A federal judge overturned Austin's 2016 short-term rental ordinance that required owners to occupy the rental property as their homestead to get a license. The judge ruled this violated property owners' rights. The city adopted the stricter regulations to limit the number of short-term rentals as the city experienced a massive increase in STR properties but has struggled with enforcement. This ruling is one that could impact cities nationwide that have attempted to regulate short-term rentals. We could see more cities take a constitutional approach to creating and enforcing STR regulations.

Escondido

The City of Escondido currently does not regulate its short-term rental properties but will soon change that to address community concerns and to begin collecting Transient Occupancy Tax revenue. The city aims to address issues like noise and parking with new regulations while accommodating short-term rental operators. Escondido is taking community input and following the lead of other San Diego County cities that adopted regulations.

New York City

New York City passed short-term rental regulations in 2022, requiring all STR hosts to register with the city to legally rent out units short-term. In turn, just recently, Airbnb sued, claiming the law is burdensome and could drastically decrease the number of listings in New York City, effectively banning all STRs in the city. The major point of contention between the city, hosts, and landlords is a rule that was enacted in January of 2023 called Local Law 18. The law requires short-term rental operators to register their name, contact information, and address with the city and provide proof of occupancy, lease or ownership details, and a host’s government-issued ID. In addition, the law enables landlords and co-op boards to place their properties on the Prohibited Buildings List, which prevents STR hosts in those buildings from registering their units legally with the city; however, landlords are still on the hook for the hefty fines. Landlords say illegal short-term rentals pose safety risks, and they should not be liable for hosts who are violating the city’s regulations. While hosts argue their listings provide visibility to neighborhoods that don’t have a major hotel presence and also creates income for communities and their residents.

The regulations enforcement is on hold until September while the lawsuit plays out.