Short-term rentals in Greenport, explained properly.

The chapter applies to all rentals of any dwelling unit, including an apartment. A dwelling unit is presumed to be, or contain, a rental if it is not occupied by its legal owner or sits in a building or on a lot with multiple dwelling units under common ownership, whether or not money changes hands. A listing through a platform commonly used for vacation rentals (Airbnb, VRBO, Vacasa, HomeAway) creates a presumption of short-term rental use that can be rebutted with reasonable evidence to the Building Inspector.

Accessory buildings and structures cannot be an eligible dwelling unit (the one carve-out is an apartment that is itself a single-unit rental property). Sec. 103-16B also bars using any accessory building, temporary structure, tent, trailer, camper or recreational vehicle for residential living purposes in connection with any rental of a dwelling unit.

No apartment or dwelling unit on a multifamily property (more than two dwelling units) may hold a short-term rental permit unless it is a single-unit rental property under Subsection B of that definition, meaning an apartment in a condominium or residential cooperative in existence on the effective date. A two-dwelling property can qualify through the resident short-term rental permit. Employee housing, regardless of whether rent is collected, is treated as a rental and can only hold a long-term rental permit.

For a hosted permit the unit must be a single-unit dwelling, the rental must be only incidental to residential use, and at least one bedroom must be reserved for an owner or resident tenant and not available to any other tenant. Sec. 103-16J requires every short-term rental to be offered to one party of renters at a time, not as separate bedrooms, beds or spaces to separate parties, and Sec. 103-16F bars a non-resident tenant from leasing less than the entire dwelling unit.

These limits are in Sec. 103-16K to M. Dormitory-style sleeping arrangements (more than two sleeping accommodations not separated by permanent walls and doors, or three or more unrelated persons sleeping in a common open area) are prohibited in short-term rentals and employee housing. No more than two bedrooms are allowed in the basement of a building with a rental unit, and only where the basement may lawfully be inhabited.

These requirements sit in the application section (Sec. 103-7A(13)); the application must also state the number of on-site spaces that satisfy Sec. 150-16 and identify the location of each. We haven't reviewed Sec. 150-16 (Chapter 150, Zoning) yet.

Insurers must be licensed in New York or a licensed excess line broker. Proof of coverage goes in the application and must stay in effect during the rental.

The owner may be a designated responsible party. The designee must be able to respond to issues, including noise under Chapter 88, throughout every stay. Contact names and phone numbers must be posted prominently in the unit, with emergency numbers and garbage, recycling, noise and parking information (Sec. 103-16O).

The application also needs a floor plan, the proposed advertising channels, insurance proof, a waste management plan and signed owner certifications (habitability, electrical, fireplace flues cleaned within 12 months, truthfulness). Village inspections without consent need the owner's or occupant's consent or a warrant, except in emergencies.

Sec. 103-8 leaves the dollar amount to a Board of Trustees resolution. Check the Village's current fee resolution for the amount and the date it took effect.

A renewal application is signed by the owner or owners and filed with the Building Inspector under Sec. 103-7, and is processed under the same review standards.

A rental other than a short-term rental may continue for 75 days after the new owner acquires the property while the owner applies for and receives a permit.

Registration numbers start with H (hosted), O (owner-occupied) or R (resident). The Village keeps a public registry of rental permits with the address, owner contacts and permit type, available for inspection on reasonable request and notice.

The log must not include personally identifiable information about tenants.

We haven't reviewed the Village's tax chapter or the Suffolk County Code yet, so this page does not total state and local taxes.

Enforcement of the short-term permit requirement began 60 days after the effective date (120 days if the owner filed within the first 60 days). An exempted short-term rental is a booking made before Local Law 8 of 2025 was adopted, for dates on or before the first anniversary of the effective date, listed in writing to the Building Inspector within 60 days of the effective date; bookings more than 90 days out qualify only if the owner cannot cancel without penalty and so certifies.

Other consequences are permit suspension or revocation, criminal penalties set by the Board of Trustees, and any other remedy under local or state law. A violation can be charged against the owner, the tenant or both.

A final decision follows within 30 days of a timely response. A revoked permit blocks a new application for the same property until the conditions are remedied, and an application can be denied if a permit for the unit was revoked in the prior three years (unless the owner is new). An appeal stays the decision unless the Building Inspector certifies imminent peril. Hearing within 45 days of the appeal.

New York's Real Property Law article 12-D (sections 447-a to 447-g) covers short-term rental units: an entire dwelling unit or any room or space in a dwelling rented to guests for fewer than 30 consecutive days for tourist or transient use. It does not cover New York City. Every county that is a covered jurisdiction must set up a registration system (counties may share one), unless the county adopted a local law opting out by the later of December 31, 2025 or nine months after the section took effect. Places that already had their own short-term rental registration system when the article took effect, and places that ban short-term rentals, are not covered jurisdictions. In a covered area, a host must register the unit with the county; registration lasts two years, a tenant who is not the permanent occupant or lacks the owner's written permission cannot register, and the registration number must appear on every listing. The unit must not be a single room occupancy, must have a posted evacuation diagram, a posted list of police, fire and poison control numbers and a working fire extinguisher, must be insured for at least $300,000 for third-party property damage and bodily injury (a booking service's insurance can count), and must not be a rent-regulated unit. Booking services may not collect a fee for a unit whose county registration they have not verified. The host requirements and the booking-service check do not apply until the county has set up its registry. Counties warn hosts for the first two violations, may fine up to $200 for a third and up to $500 a day for each later violation, with a seven-day cure period. Any county, city, town or village may pass a local law prohibiting or further limiting short-term rentals. Check your county's website for its registry.

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance says that, effective March 1, 2025, New York State and local sales tax applies to sales of short-term rental unit occupancy in the state when the rental rate is more than $2.00 per unit per day. A guest pays the tax until becoming a permanent resident by staying in the unit for 90 consecutive days. A $1.50 per unit per day fee applies only in New York City. Counties, cities, towns and villages may charge their own additional occupancy tax, which they administer themselves; those are listed on each city page.

Publication 718 of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance (rates effective March 1, 2025) lists the state rate as 4% and the combined state and county rate for each county and for cities with their own rate. Erie County is listed at 8 3/4% with no separate city rate. The Department's online Sales Tax Jurisdiction and Rate Lookup gives the rate for a specific address. Local hotel or occupancy taxes are separate and are listed on each city page.

A booking service (a platform that provides the place where the sale happens and collects the rent) that facilitates a short-term rental stay in New York must register with the Tax Department as a sales tax vendor and collect New York State and local sales tax on every stay it facilitates. It must give its hosts Form ST-155, Booking Service Certificate of Collection, within 90 days, or have a publicly available agreement saying it will collect the tax. A host whose stays are all facilitated by a booking service, and who has that certificate or agreement, does not collect the sales tax on those stays.

A host (operator) of a short-term rental unit in New York must register with the Tax Department as a sales tax vendor and collect New York State and local sales tax on stays, unless the host rents out their own property for 3 days or less in a calendar year without a booking service, or a booking service handles all of the host's sales. Registration is done through New York Business Express.