Newbold town board tweaks short-term rental ordinance

The Newbold town board at its Sept. 11 meeting agreed to amend its short-term rental ordinance in order to make what town chairman Dan Hess indicated were minor changes.

The board, in March, adopted an ordinance regulating tourist rooming houses, or short-term rentals, which are properties most commonly advertised on websites such as VRBO and AirBnb.

Essentially, the ordinance requires owners who wish to rent a dwelling as a tourist rooming house to obtain a permit for an initial fee and a yearly renewal fee thereafter. If someone is renting a dwelling without obtaining a permit, and the town is made aware, the owner would be subject to a fee and would have to obtain a permit. 

“What we did was if you get a permit in June, you’re prorated until the end of the year … so all the renewals are done at one time,” Hess told The Lakeland Times on Sept. 13. “Because we didn’t think it was right that people could get a TRH (tourist rooming house permit) in November, pay the $500, and then have to pay a renewal right away in January. So the initial (fee) is prorated.”

Trevor Greene may be reached via email at [email protected].