Here's How To Close The Corporate Short-Term Rental Loophole

To the editor: It’s so stupid for the Select Board to speak about the need for affordable housing and allow corporate ownership of multiple short-term rentals (STRs) on Nantucket.

The answer is simple. Anyone who owns more than 10 percent of the shares or economic interests in any LLC is deemed an “Owner.” And an owner is allowed only one STR license. All STR licensees must provide notarized evidence of all natural persons who are owners upon town request for such information. The penalty for an STR having multiple owners is the repayment of all rental income earned, plus interest, during the period in which it had multiple owners and an immediate and final termination of its STR license.

This would stop corporate ownership of Nantucket housing.

The affordability crisis is real. Why are town leaders not fixing the LLC loophole which allows Heirloom, and others, to corporatize our housing? It can be done.

Jeff McDermott
Monomoy