Legislature moves to tax short-term rentals, create county registry under new state law

The Rules and Agreements and Intergovernmental Relations Committee voted to amend Orange County’s hotel and motel occupancy tax law to opt in and conform to recent state legislation that permits occupancy taxation of short-term rental units. The draft local law would add short-term rentals to the county’s existing hotel/motel occupancy tax and establish a county registry for such units.

County Attorney Richard Golden, who explained the draft local law, told legislators that counties are authorized to tax hotels and motels only to the extent the state grants that power and that the new state law automatically opts counties in for short-term rental taxation unless a county opts out before the state deadline. He said the local law before the committee would “amend Orange County hotel and motel occupancy tax, local law to opt in and conform to recent state legislation, allowing occupancy taxation of short term rental units.”

Golden said the state requires the county to use the same tax rate for short-term rentals as the county already applies to hotels and motels. The draft local law does not set any charge to register; the county attorney said he proposed a no-fee registry to mirror the county’s existing hotel/motel registry. He noted, however, that state law permits charging a reasonable fee to offset registry costs, and said the county will decide on that as a policy matter.

Golden described administrative steps and enforcement options. Orange County is preparing an RFP for a consultant to compile and maintain the registry and to scour online booking platforms to identify properties. He said booking platforms (Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com) or individual hosts would be required to register, and platforms would be prohibited from listing properties not registered with the county once the law is in effect. For unpaid occupancy taxes, Golden said the county could pursue enforcement actions that mirror hotel/motel tax enforcement, including turning unpaid taxes into a lien on the property recorded with the county clerk.

Legislators asked about definitions, coverage and municipal effects. On definitions, Golden said the county would adopt the state definition of short-term rental units (questions in the meeting suggested “under 30 days” as the practical threshold). He said local building and fire-safety enforcement remains the responsibility of towns and villages and that local zoning measures that prohibit short-term rentals remain enforceable. Several legislators and municipal officials told the committee that having a county registry would help local governments identify unpermitted short-term rentals so they could pursue zoning or code enforcement.

Committee members also asked about expected revenue. Golden said the county cannot yet estimate revenue because it does not know the total number of short-term rental units in the county; other counties that responded to a statewide survey showed mixed approaches to charging registry fees. A committee member noted that an informal arrangement currently exists with Airbnb under which platforms have sent voluntary payments to the county; Golden said those voluntary payments are neither comprehensive nor guaranteed, and the new law will impose mandatory tax collection once the law is active.

The committee approved the draft local law (Legislative Request No. 285) to opt in and to create the registry; the transcript records the motion carried after a voice vote. The county plans to issue an RFP for a consultant in October and anticipated that registry work could be underway in October with fuller effect by early December, subject to procurement timing and implementation steps.