Hinchey, Fahy Lead End of Session Push for Short-Term Rental Registry Alongside NYS Association of Counties, Conference of Mayors, Hospitality & Tourism Association

June 4, 2024

ALBANY, NY – In the final days of the 2024 State Legislative Session, Senator Michelle Hinchey and Assemblymember Patricia Fahy are calling for both houses to pass their bill, S885C/A4130C, which would create New York’s first Short-Term Rental (STR) Registry.

Communities statewide are confronting a severe shortage of affordable housing, further strained by the rise in short-term rentals, which is driving up rents, removing needed housing, and displacing long-term residents. Hinchey and Fahy’s Short-Term Rental Registry would provide a comprehensive view of this growing industry and provide communities with the information and revenue to manage it based on local needs. The bill directs property owners to register their units with the NYS Department of State every two years, allowing municipalities with their own registries to keep their systems. The Department of State will send monthly reports to municipalities detailing the number, locations, and number of nights occupied by short-term rentals. Additionally, the bill allows municipalities to collect sales and occupancy tax on short-term rentals, which is projected to generate tens of millions of dollars in revenue for local communities.

At the State Capitol on Tuesday, Hinchey and Fahy gathered supporters of their bill, including Senator Liz Krueger, Assembly Housing Chair Linda Rosenthal, Assemblymembers Carrie Woerner, Emily Gallagher, Jonathan Jacobson, Sarah Clark, Dana Levenberg, MaryJane Shimsky, Albany County Executive and Board President of the New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) Dan McCoy, Albany Mayor and Executive Committee Board Member for the NYS Conference of Mayors (NYCOM) Kathy Sheehan, and President of the New York State Hospitality & Tourism Association, Mark Dorr.

Senator Michelle Hinchey said, “Throughout this session, we’ve worked to build the recognition that short-term rentals are a key part of the housing conversation, and providing a clear picture of New York’s STR market is essential to helping us solve the housing shortage and affordability crisis. Our bill to create a statewide Short-Term Rental Registry will give villages, towns, and cities critical information and new revenue. This will help communities address local housing needs while still supporting our neighbors who choose to rent out their homes for extra income — neighbors whose participation in this hospitality sector is an important aspect of our local tourism economy. Across New York, our villages, towns, and cities are asking the State to create a statewide STR Registry, and we owe it to our communities to provide this tool. We’re going to do everything we can to get this bill passed in both houses before the end of session and get New York back to a place where our neighbors can find homes they can afford.”

Assemblymember Patricia Fahy said, “With days left in the legislative session, we have a responsibility to track the STR market, an estimated billion-dollar industry, to make our Upstate communities affordable places to live again. Our legislation would create a statewide STR Registry and level the playing field for hotels and motels by extending occupancy and sales taxes, which help directly fund tourism agencies in communities and counties across the state. A statewide STR Registry is among the most important solutions on the table to solve the housing crisis, and we must address this issue before we conclude this year’s legislative session.”

Senator Liz Krueger said, “Every short-term rental in this state is a housing unit that is unavailable for a New York family. In the middle of a desperate shortage of affordable housing, the explosion of short-term rentals is compounding the crisis. New York City’s registration system has been very successful at curbing illegal rentals and giving the city critical data for tracking and enforcement; a statewide system would do the same. I thank Senator Hinchey and Assemblymember Fahy for taking the lead on this critical issue.”

Senator Gustavo Rivera said, “One of the defining components of our State’s housing crisis is the lack of permanently affordable housing stock. Along with rising rents, there is an alarming increase of housing units being converted into short-term, transient accommodations across the State. The bill championed by Senator Hinchey and Assemblymember Fahy will create first-of-its-kind statewide guidance for short-term rentals, including a rental registry, to ensure municipalities have the necessary information and tools to help them regulate this market to their specific local needs.”

Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky said, “At the same time our State’s housing shortage is getting worse, private homes are being pulled from the housing market by investors and turned into short-term rentals. We’ll know the extent to which these two phenomena are related, only by passing A4130. This bill will provide badly-needed transparency to the short-term rental industry, and give municipalities another tool to regulate their local short-term rental market.”

Assemblymember Carrie Woerner said, “This bill simply creates a registry of properties that are being rented on a short-term basis and creates a mechanism for the platforms to collect applicable sales and occupancy tax without burdening the property owner. Tourists who choose to stay in hotels, motels, or Bed & Breakfast establishments pay any required sales and occupancy taxes, and this legislation would extend this obligation to tourists who choose a short-term rental property for their vacation. It is about parity and fairness.”

Board President of the NYS Conference of Mayors (NYCOM), Barbara Van Epps, said, “The rapid growth of short-term rentals, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, has presented both opportunities and challenges for communities. While these rentals contribute to economic activity and provide additional lodging options for travelers, they also bring about issues related to oversight, taxation, and their impact on local housing markets. NYCOM commends Assemblymember Fahy and Senator Hinchey for their leadership in trying to address these concerns. Enacting uniform regulations that ensure fairness among different types of lodging providers and giving local governments the necessary tools and resources for effective management will go a long way toward addressing the evolving landscape of short-term rentals.”

NYS Association of Counties (NYSAC) President and Albany County Executive Dan McCoy said, “The short-term rental industry is a growing piece of the tourism industry in communities across the state. I applaud state lawmakers for simplifying and modernizing these services in a way that levels the playing field with traditional hotels and motels."

Albany Mayor and NYCOM Executive Board Member Kathy Sheehan said, “There are undoubtedly benefits to short-term rentals in our cities and towns; however, there needs to be accountability tools in place to manage these units and hold them to the same standards as long-term rentals and hotels. Senator Hinchey and Assemblymember Fahy’s legislation will give municipalities like Albany the tools to ensure short-term rentals are safe and contribute to our economy.”

Mark Dorr, President of the NYS Hospitality & Tourism Association, said, “As we close in on the end of this Legislative Session, New York State is poised to pass landmark, first-of-its-kind legislation that will finally hold short-term rental platforms accountable. Short-term rentals in New York are a $1 billion dollar business that remains unchecked, but this legislation creates a simple, online registration platform that will allow for the collection of sales and occupancy taxes and provide common sense safety and security requirements.”

Legislation to create a Short-Term Rental Registry (S885C/A4130C) is supported by over thirty municipal and housing advocacy organizations, business councils, chambers of commerce, and tourism and hospitality associations, including the following:

Municipal Organizations