Short-term rentals in Talbot County, explained properly.

The applicant gives notice to owners of contiguous properties, owners across a road, easement or right-of-way, all other owners with a property line within 1,000 feet (including in line of sight across waterways), any homeowners' or property owners' association, and other owners with a right of access over a shared private road. Notice goes by priority mail with delivery confirmation or a carrier with adult signature, or other written means where receipt is confirmed in writing, and the applicant files a certificate of service. The property is also posted by the Code Compliance Officer. A party who took part in the hearing may appeal to the Board of Appeals within 30 days of the written decision. Renewals are normally decided by the Planning Director without a Board hearing, but the Director or Code Compliance Officer may refer a renewal to the Board; a renewal also requires neighbour notice within 21 days of filing.

The application must state where and how the rental will be advertised, including printed, online and audio or video material.

The application also asks whether the property is in a homeowners' or property owners' association or under covenants about rentals (the application asks for a statement). The Health Department reviews a certified water sample for bacteria, checks the well and its tag, and checks that any septic system is operating; a sewered property needs a letter from the County Engineer on sewer adequacy. The applicant schedules an on-site inspection by the Planning Director, a Code Enforcement Officer or an ICC-certified third-party building inspector to verify the Minimum Safety Standards in Sec. 190-33.20.C.9 and the accuracy of the plan; a third-party inspection may be no more than 45 days before filing. A County inspection request carries a $40 fee that the County Council may reset through the fee schedule. We haven't reviewed Sec. 190-33.20, so the safety standards themselves are not on this page.

Listed examples for a new license are site features such as landscaping, screening, fencing or parking; outdoor lighting; waste disposal; hours of use for outdoor areas; distance of outdoor recreation areas from neighbouring property lines; and the time before the license must be renewed.

Any person alleging a violation of Chapter 190 in the operation of a short-term rental that the owner or resident agent has left unresolved may file a complaint with Planning and Zoning. The licensee has 21 days to respond; failure to respond is treated as an admission. The Board's authority is in addition to the County's enforcement powers under Chapter 58, which we haven't reviewed. Separately, the Planning Director may decline to issue, decline to renew or revoke a license for false statements in an application, any infraction, disturbance, nuisance or failure to monitor during a rental, violation of any law or license condition, or failure to pay the Talbot County accommodations tax.

Section 11-101 of the Tax-General Article defines a short-term rental as the temporary use of a short-term rental unit (a residential dwelling unit or part of one, including a house, apartment, condominium or cooperative) to provide accommodation to transient guests for lodging purposes in exchange for consideration, and lists both an accommodation (a right to occupy a room or lodgings as a transient guest) and a short-term rental as tangible personal property. Section 11-104(a) sets the general sales and use tax rate at 6 cents for each exact dollar of the taxable price. The Comptroller of Maryland's 2016 tax alert on accommodations says that individuals who rent out their homes or rooms are accommodations providers who must register with the Comptroller and collect the tax, that the tax does not apply to monthly or permanent residents, and that all rentals in resort areas for terms of 4 months or less are subject to the tax. Local room or hotel taxes are shown on each place's page.

Section 11-101 defines a short-term rental platform as an Internet-based digital entity that advertises short-term rental units and is paid for facilitating reservations or processing booking transactions for the owner, operator or manager, and lists a short-term rental platform as a vendor. Section 11-403(a)(5) says sales include a booking transaction made through a short-term rental platform, and 11-403(b) requires a vendor to collect the sales and use tax from the buyer. Under 11-101(l)(5), when a platform facilitates a stay, the taxable price is the full amount the guest pays, not counting any tax remitted to a taxing authority; a commission paid by the host after the booking is not included. The Comptroller's 2016 alert says hosting platforms that collect payments on behalf of an owner must register and collect the tax, and that an owner's duty to collect is waived only when the platform gives the owner a resale certificate. A 2025 law (Chapter 638) rewrites these definitions from July 1, 2027 so that an accommodations intermediary includes a short-term rental platform. The sources read do not say whether a host who books through a platform that collects must still file returns; check with the Comptroller.

Chapter 9 of the 2026 Laws of Maryland (House Bill 1221) added Public Safety Article sections 9-1101 to 9-1106, effective October 1, 2026. They apply only to a short-term rental unit offered for less than 30 consecutive days. The host must conspicuously post an evacuation diagram identifying all exits and a list of emergency numbers for police and fire rescue, and provide a working fire extinguisher and working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Booking services must electronically notify hosts of these requirements and require each host to provide the inspection confirmation for each unit. By July 1, 2028, each county and Baltimore City must, by local law or regulation, require annual inspections of all short-term rental units for these requirements (this does not apply to a county that prohibits short-term rentals) and may charge an inspection fee. The law does not require a county or Baltimore City to allow short-term rentals and does not preempt other local measures. In the 2026 session, House Bill 993 (local rules on short-term rentals run by tenants) passed the House; its last action shown, on April 13, 2026, was Second Reading Passed in the Senate, and it has no chapter number.