Short-term rentals in Meredith, explained properly.

Article VII Section B.1.f and B.1.g set these limits for every accessory short-term rental approved by special exception. The number of permitted bedrooms is shown on the plot plan filed with the application.

Article VII Section B.1.h. The plot plan filed with the application must show the proposed parking area(s).

Article VII Section B.1.i says all short-term rental properties must have life-safety provisions as approved by a Fire Inspector, and the Town's page says owners must complete an inspection with the Fire Department. The Town links a Fire Department Short-Term Rental Inspection Checklist, which we haven't reviewed.

Article VII Section B.1.k. An owning entity must identify the designated agent in the special exception application.

Article VII Section B.1.j.

Article VI Section C says enforcement under RSA 676:15 and 676:17 is in the discretion of the Board of Selectmen or Building Inspector and may include an injunction or civil penalties in the Superior Court or any other legal action. Article X says any violation of the ordinance is subject to the provisions of RSA 676:17 and 676:17-b. We haven't reviewed RSA 676:17, so specific penalty amounts are not covered here.

From the Town's Short Term Rentals page. Questions about short-term rentals go to the Planning & Development Department at 603-677-4215.

RSA 78-A:6 imposes a tax of 8.5 percent of the rent on each occupancy, and RSA 78-A:3 defines rent to include any fee, service or other charge the occupant must pay to a room facilitator. The chapter defines a short-term rental as the rental of one or more rooms in a residential unit for tourist or transient use for less than 185 consecutive days, and defines a hotel to include tourist homes, cottages, chalets and apartments. RSA 78-A:6-d lists occupancy by a permanent resident as not taxable, and RSA 78-A:3 defines a permanent resident as an occupant who has occupied a room for at least 185 consecutive days. Every operator files a return on or before the fifteenth day of the month after the taxes are collected, even when no tax is due (RSA 78-A:8). We haven't reviewed Department of Revenue Administration guidance on how the tax applies to rentals of private homes, and local lodging taxes are shown on each place's page. This page does not total state and local taxes.

RSA 78-A:4 requires each operator to register the name and address of each place of business where it operates a hotel, and says no person shall engage in renting rooms without first obtaining the license. The license is nonassignable and cannot be transferred, must be conspicuously posted in a public area on the premises it relates to, and expires on June 30 in each odd-numbered year unless the business ceases operation, ownership changes or the license is revoked or suspended earlier. A license is not issued or renewed if the operator owes unpaid taxes, interest or penalties from any tax the Department administers. A person who fails to register or obtain the license is subject to the penalty provisions of RSA 21-J:39, which we haven't reviewed. The chapter defines operator to include a room facilitator. We haven't reviewed the Department's registration pages, so the registration steps are not covered here.

RSA 78-A:4-a requires every advertisement for a short-term rental, in print, display, publication, distribution or an online listing, to include the meals and rooms license number of the operator. A violation may result in a warning from the Department of Revenue Administration that the operator's license may be revoked, suspended or denied, and later violations may be sufficient cause for revocation, suspension or denial. The section also says it does not change or alter the nature of the use of a property for the purpose of determining compliance with a local zoning ordinance.

RSA 78-A:7 makes the room facilitator responsible for demanding and collecting the tax from the occupant and remitting it to the state when it facilitates the occupancy in whole or in part. RSA 78-A:3 defines a room facilitator as any person able to offer, reserve, book, arrange for, broker or otherwise facilitate occupancy, directly or indirectly, through an Internet transaction or any other means, and includes room facilitators in the definition of operator. If a room facilitator required to collect the tax fails to make a return, RSA 78-A:11 says no assessment is made except against the room facilitator. We haven't reviewed Department of Revenue Administration guidance on platform registration.