Governor Hochul Signs the Bill to Regulate Short Term Rentals
December 24, 2024: Governor Hochul has signed the bill (S885C/A4130) regulating short term rentals with an amendment agreed to by the NYS Legislature. The original bill would have required STR hosts to register with the state. Governor Hochul stated there was no money in the State budget for the Department of State to create a registry. The amended bill will give counties the ability to create the registries. Counties can opt out of creating a registry. Booking agencies like VRBO and AirBNB will have to send quarterly reports to the Department of State on the number of rentals booked in each county. The bill also requires sales and occupancy tax to be collected on STR rentals. Unlike hotel operators, STR hosts have not had to pay sales tax on their rentals. The Legislature is expected to approve the amended bill in January.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise Publishes Two Guest Commentaries
The Adirondack Daily Enterprise published two Guest Commentaries by Board Member Tim Follos in December 2024. He described issues related to the 2025 Town budget recently passed by the Town Board. The vote was three to two in favor of the budget. Supervisor Smith and Board Members Forbes and Terry Preston voted for the budget. Board Members Follos and Driessigacker Hooker voted against the budget. Follos and Driessigacker Hooker wanted more time to look over the budget. Supervisor Smith was quoted as saying he just wanted to "get this over with." Follos noted that he and Driessigacker Hooker proposed several ways to reduce the property tax levy so that the town could stay within the state "tax cap." The other board members did not want to consider those options. A link to the commentary published in the Daily Enterprise on December 18, 2024 can be found here. A link to the commentary published in the Daily Enterprise on December 19, 2024 can be found here.
Saranac Lake Village Adopts 10 Unit Cap for New STRs
In 2023, the Village of Saranac Lake adopted new laws and regulations to manage short term rentals. Pre-existing short term rental owners were allowed to apply for permits under the new law. However, an 18 month moratorium was enacted on new short term rental applications. The moratorium is set to expire on December 31, 2024. At a meeting on November 27, the Village Board voted 3-2 to set a cap on new permits. There was a lot of debate on how to set exemptions to the 10 unit cap. Three Board members wanted to restrict exemptions to new construction or rehabilitation of dilapidated buildings. The other two wanted to include situations such as financial hardship and maintaining local ownership of homes. There was also debate on the legality of the language of this new policy. The Board will revisit the issue at their next meeting. For more details, see the Adirondack Daily Enterprise article here.