Committee debates short-term rental counts and state registry choice for Sullivan County

Members of the Sullivan County Management and Budget Committee discussed differing short-term rental tallies, the county's contract with a mapping/vendor firm, and an unclear state law that requires counties to decide whether to opt into a rental registry.

A committee member said a presentation by the new director of the Sullivan County Visitors Association listed ‘‘approximately 2,600’’ units, a figure that did not match the county’s vendor data. The member said a private company the county hired reported about 750 short-term rentals and that the county had mailed more than 700 compliance letters to suspected operators.

County Treasurer Nancy said the county has a contract with the vendor (referred to in the meeting as Decker) and that New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) has been promoting the vendor’s program to other counties. "We were very happy with them," she said of Decker, adding that she had spoken with NYSAC and that the organization was advising counties about the new law.

Nancy described the state law as requiring a county-level decision on whether to participate in a registry. "If you opt out of the registry, you can always opt in at any time. If you opt in and you don't like the way it's going, you cannot opt out later," she said, noting uncertainty in the law’s implementation and that NYSAC and state legislators were still clarifying details. She advised the committee not to rush the decision until more guidance is available and said the deadline for a county decision is not immediate; she noted counties have time to decide but said the question is complex because of town-level impacts.

Chris, a county GIS staffer, provided parcel and housing data intended to put short-term rental counts in context. He said Sullivan County contains 67,850 parcels and that the county’s classification data show about 38,000–44,730 residential parcels depending on definitions used; he also counted roughly 1,500 parcels classified as inns, motels or hotels. The U.S. Census estimate for housing units as of July 2024 was cited at about 51,000. Chris said camps and other recreational parcels were not included in his residential total and that some camp properties might complicate rental tallies.

Committee members emphasized the policy implications: short-term rental counts feed housing-stock and tax-revenue projections and could influence whether the county or individual towns adopt local rules or join a statewide-style registry. Nancy flagged unresolved legal details including town-level opt-in/opt-out consequences and earlier shifting language about tax collection and enforcement.

No formal county decision or vote occurred; several members asked staff to continue comparing vendor and county data and to circulate the law text and additional analysis to legislators and town officials before a future determination.