Short-term rentals in Tobyhanna Township, explained properly.

The chapter defines a short-term rental as any dwelling unit utilized and rented for the purpose of overnight lodging for a period of less than 30 days, and which meets the definition of "hotel" for the purpose of imposing an excise tax by the County of Monroe as defined in County of Monroe Ordinance No. 2004-03, as amended. An overnight guest is any individual lodging overnight at a short-term rental for 30 days or less, and transient use of residential property is profit-making use for transient lodging where the term of occupancy is less than 30 consecutive calendar days (Sec. 114-4). We haven't reviewed the County ordinance, so confirm with the Township how it applies to a particular rental.

The application (Sec. 114-7A) lists the property address; the owner's name, address, phone and email; the name, address and 24-hour phone of each person in charge; a floor plan showing bedrooms and any pools; the number of permitted bedrooms; unit counts for a multiunit structure; a diagram or aerial photo of on-site parking; for a property not on central sewer, a septic evaluation certifying the system works as intended and proof the tank was pumped within the past three years; a copy of the current Monroe County hotel room excise tax certificate; a copy of the current Pennsylvania sales and use tax permit certificate; a copy of written notice to the homeowners' association, when applicable; the signatures of the owner, operator and person in charge; and proof of at least $500,000 in general liability insurance. The application also covers the safety equipment listed in Sec. 114-7A(16) and verification that county and state tax remissions are current (Sec. 114-7G). The owner must talk to the Township before any renovation; that notice is not an approval (Sec. 114-7E).

Application fees are payable when the permit application is filed, and renewal fees when the renewal application is filed, each in the amount set by resolution of the Board of Supervisors (Sec. 114-9A, B). An appeal also carries a fee set by resolution (Sec. 114-17A(1)). Because the resolution and its date haven't been reviewed, no fee amount appears here.

Renewal is allowed when all conditions of the initial and later applications are met, or until a condition governed by the chapter changes, whichever comes first (Sec. 114-7D). A renewal application must include any updated information about improvements that require a permit modification (Sec. 114-9C). The Township may revoke or deny renewal after three uncured or repeated violations in a rolling twelve-month period (Sec. 114-15I).

The section heading is "Permit required; nontransferability." If ownership changes by sale or deed transfer, or indirectly by death, a change in ownership of the entity that owns the property, a sheriff sale or a court order, the new owner must apply for a license under the chapter before renting the property as a short-term rental (Sec. 114-5A).

Sec. 114-2E says a subsequent STR permit shall not issue to a short-term rental owner until the passage of 90 days following any prior permit having been issued to that same owner. The chapter also says permits renew annually, so how this 90-day wait applies to a renewal or to a second property owned by the same person is unclear in the text; confirm with the Township.

The reservation is a statement of authority to set a limit later. A cap number would appear here only if the Township adopts one; any such limit would be a change to watch.

The number of bedrooms permitted for a short-term rental shall not exceed the number of bedrooms approved for the dwelling unit on the sewage permit. Where there is no sewage permit on record, the rental is limited to three bedrooms unless proof is given that the septic system can handle additional flows; any rental advertising more than three bedrooms needs Township approval of the system or a previously issued Township septic permit. If a sewage system malfunction occurs, short-term rental of the unit must stop until the malfunction is corrected under Township and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection requirements (Sec. 114-8D, E).

Each owner must maintain at least $500,000 in general liability insurance on the rental for the full license term and give proof to the Township (Sec. 114-7A(14)). The standards section repeats this and asks for the declaration page of a paid-up policy covering commercial use of a short-term rental for the full permit term (Sec. 114-8C).

Sec. 114-7A(16) also requires GFI outlets within six feet of a water source, a metal or aluminum dryer exhaust, stairs in good condition, windows in good working order and fireplaces cleaned every two years. Owners are strongly encouraged, not required, to keep a noise-monitoring device (Sec. 114-7A(15)).

All short-term rentals are subject to Township oversight, and inspections may be conducted to ensure compliance (Sec. 114-11A, B). The Township may enter, with consent, to inspect the premises (Sec. 114-15A). Where a violation may harm safety and there is no emergent threat, an interior inspection is arranged with the owner or person in charge on 48 hours' notice; the Zoning Officer, with local police, may reasonably waive that notice when evidence shows a more immediate threat (Sec. 114-15B, C). Guests must make the property available for inspection on reasonable notice (Sec. 114-8P(7)).

The capacity limit is two per bedroom plus two. The Township verifies the bedroom count from the septic permit or other means, and the limit must be accurately shown in all printed and online advertising (Sec. 114-8A). Advertising a higher occupancy than the chapter allows is a violation (Sec. 114-12B). The packet posted in the unit must state the maximum number of occupants (Sec. 114-8P(3)).

Sec. 114-8L sets the minimum rental period at two nights and three days. The definitions treat stays of less than 30 days as short-term (Sec. 114-4).

Sec. 114-8B sets the minimum age at 25 to contractually rent an STR unit.

Outdoor parking for renters is limited to available parking spaces on the property, in compliance with the current parking regulations and definitions of the Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 155, which we haven't reviewed). In no event may guests park in a private, community or public street right-of-way or on a lawn or vegetated area (Sec. 114-8F). The application includes a diagram or aerial photo showing the number and location of on-site spaces (Sec. 114-7A(7)), and the posted packet states the maximum number of vehicles (Sec. 114-8P(4)).

Sec. 114-8O prohibits subleasing all or a portion of the dwelling unit.

These are conditions of the permit, and a violation can lead to revocation or fines (Sec. 114-8J, K, N, R). Guests also may not disturb the peace by loud, unusual or excessive noise or disorderly conduct (Sec. 114-8I), and the rental may not look different from the surrounding residential uses from outside (Sec. 114-8M).

Sec. 114-8P lists the packet contents: the 24-hour contact, the E-911 address, the maximum occupants, the maximum vehicles and parking rules, the trash pickup day and the rule that trash stays in designated receptacles and be removed from the curb promptly after pickup, a notice that guests may be cited and fined, a notice that guests must allow inspection, a full copy of the Short-Term Rental Ordinance, and a copy of the Township permit.

All advertising, including online platforms, personal websites and broker sites, must prominently display the county and state license numbers and the STR capacity limit (Sec. 114-12A). To the extent the platform allows, owners must post the Township permit number in a designated field, or in the property description if there is no field (Sec. 114-7A(11)). An ad that promotes anything the chapter prohibits is a violation (Sec. 114-12B).

Sec. 114-3B says the chapter is not intended to and does not supersede the declarations or covenants in a planned community where a short-term rental may be located. The application must include a copy of written notice to the homeowners' association of the intent to apply, when applicable (Sec. 114-7A(12)).

The application includes copies of the current Monroe County hotel room excise tax certificate and the current Pennsylvania sales and use tax permit certificate, with tax identification numbers deleted (Sec. 114-7A(9), (10)). The Township also asks for verification that the property holds the county and state licenses to collect and remit taxes and confirmation from the taxing authority that remissions are current (Sec. 114-7G). Advertising must show the county and state license numbers (Sec. 114-12A). We haven't reviewed Monroe County's tax rate or ordinance, so no county rate is shown; the Pennsylvania state tax appears above.

Violations are enforced before a Magisterial District Judge in the manner of summary offenses. On conviction, a person or entity that violates or permits a violation pays a fine of not less than $500 nor more than the maximum permissible fine under the Pennsylvania Second Class Township Code, per violation, plus court costs and the Township's reasonable attorney's fees, and/or may be imprisoned to the extent the law allows for summary offenses. Each day or portion of a day ending at 11:59 p.m. that a violation continues is a separate violation. The Township may also seek an injunction (Sec. 114-15D to G). Each owner of jointly owned premises is separately subject to prosecution (Sec. 114-16). Knowingly false or repeated unfounded reports of violations are punishable by a fine of up to $500 plus costs (Sec. 114-15K). Last amended 2-20-2024 by Ord. 577.

Sec. 114-15I allows the Township to revoke, or deny an application to renew, a permit for three uncured or repeated violations of the chapter in any rolling twelve-calendar-month period. Sec. 114-15J says the revocation or denial continues for one year for the first set of two uncured or repeated violations and for three years for any subsequent set. The text refers to three violations in one subsection and a set of two in the next, so the trigger is unclear; confirm with the Township. Violations of the standards section are conditions of the permit and may result in revocation (Sec. 114-8R).

The appeal is on a Township form with a fee set by resolution (Sec. 114-17A). The Board gives written notice at least 15 days before the hearing, holds the hearing within 60 days of the filing unless the appellant agrees to more time, and issues a written decision within 45 days after the hearing ends, under the Local Agency Law (Sec. 114-17B).

Section 210 of Pennsylvania's Tax Reform Code of 1971 imposes an excise tax of 6% of the rent on every occupancy of a room or rooms in a hotel in Pennsylvania, collected by the operator from the guest and paid to the state. For this tax a hotel is any building in which the public may, for consideration, obtain sleeping accommodations, and a guest who has occupied or has the right to occupy a room for at least 30 consecutive days is a permanent resident, whose stay is not taxed. Rent includes all charges for the stay, including any amount charged by a booking agent. The Department of Revenue says anyone who rents out property for lodging for less than 30 days to the same person must collect and remit the tax, and that it applies to rooms, apartments and houses arranged through online or third-party brokers. Some counties add their own hotel tax, collected by the county treasurer; those county taxes are shown on each place's page.

Since a 2018 amendment (Act 109 of 2018), section 210 of the Tax Reform Code says that if a booking agent acting for an operator collects payment for rent, the booking agent must collect and remit the 6% state hotel occupancy tax and any additional hotel tax imposed under listed laws, including Articles XVII and XXIII of The County Code. A booking agent is a person or entity that facilitates or collects payment for hotel accommodations for an operator, but not someone who only publishes advertisements, and an operator includes anyone acting as a booking agent. The Department of Revenue's home-sharing page still says some home-sharing websites and brokers collect the tax voluntarily and tells hosts to check with the company who is responsible; a host who books only through a site that confirms it collects and remits the tax should not register for a tax license.

The Department of Revenue says a host who does not book exclusively through a third-party site, or whose site does not collect and remit the hotel occupancy tax, must register with the Department for a Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax License through the Pennsylvania Online Business Tax registration at mypath.pa.gov. After registering, the host files returns and pays the tax electronically through myPATH. A host who books exclusively through a third-party site that confirms it collects and remits the tax should not register.