Samantha Sheehan and Josh Hanford told the House General & Housing Committee on Feb. 21 that, except for Burlington, most Vermont municipalities do not have explicit authority in state law or charter to levy targeted taxes or surcharges on short-term rental platforms and therefore lack a consistent mechanism to recover enforcement costs or impose lodging-type levies.

“The short answer is no. They do not have that authority unless they've achieved it through a unique charter process,” Sheehan said, noting Burlington’s special charter authority as an exception. She added that municipalities can sometimes regulate short-term rentals through local code, but enforcement requires staff capacity and, frequently, third-party monitoring because many rural and resort towns face challenges identifying listings and enforcing safety or registration rules.

The league recommended that the committee consider adding explicit state authority to allow towns to impose local-option surcharges (for example, a 1% local option applied to short-term rental receipts or a meals-and-rooms surcharge applicable to short-term rentals but not to traditional lodging) and to permit registration and targeted enforcement mechanisms.

Why it matters: committee members said towns that do not have charter-granted authority need a clear statutory pathway to tax and regulate short-term rentals if local voters choose to do so, and that the revenue could help cover enforcement and registration costs.

Operational challenges: witnesses described enforcement difficulties in condo complexes and ski towns where listings share common addresses and photos, complicating local identification and inspection without vendor cooperation or third-party services.

Next steps: committee members asked the league to draft language to grant towns authority to levy surcharges and enable registration; committee staff indicated Josh Hanford would work on a short-term-rental taxing authorization proposal.