On Short-Term Rental Compliance

To the editor: As a compliant short-term rental owner, I am writing to express my support for sensible short-term rental (STR) regulations, but also my concern regarding the practical enforcement of the own of Nantucket's new licensing system. While the framework is now in place, a critical question remains: how will the town ensure that everyone who rents short-term signs up, completes the required forms, and pays the annual licensing fee?

The new regulations, enacted after a vote at the 2022 Annual Town Meeting, require all eligible STR operators to register with the state and the town, obtain a certificate, and pay an annual fee of $250 per unit. Operators are also required to display their certificate numbers on all advertisements, including online platforms like Airbnb and VRBO. The town has established an online registration system and is working with a vendor named GovOS to manage the process.

These are solid steps toward an orderly and regulated market. However, the success of these rules hinges entirely on comprehensive compliance. The town has stated that properties renting for 14 days or less per year are exempt from the local permit requirement, which can create a loophole that is difficult to monitor.

The regulations specify penalties for non-compliance, including fines up to $5,000 per violation, per day, and potential cease-and-desist orders. The Board of Health is the primary enforcing authority, but without a proactive tracking system, enforcement will likely be complaint-driven, allowing many unregistered operators to slip through the cracks. This creates an unfair playing field for those who diligently follow the rules and pay their fees.

To ensure fairness and the integrity of the new system, the town must clearly communicate its enforcement strategy. Will the town use third-party services to scrape data from online rental platforms to identify unregistered properties? Will there be a dedicated enforcement task force? Property owners who follow the rules deserve a clear answer on how the town will ensure island-wide compliance.

I urge the town administration and the Select Board to provide more details on how they will actively identify and penalize operators who choose not to register their properties.

Sincerely,

Kathy Grieder