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Selectboard adopts short-term rental registration ordinance to track units, address impacts
Summary
After months of community comment, the Londonderry Selectboard adopted a town ordinance requiring annual registration of short-term rentals, capacity limits and safety proofs. The rule is intended to preserve neighborhood character and gather data on local STRs.
The Londonderry Selectboard voted to adopt a short-term rental registration ordinance designed to track the location and number of short-term rentals, set occupancy standards and require safety and tax registrations. The ordinance requires annual registration of any dwelling rented for periods under 30 days and sets a per-bedroom capacity formula for overnight occupancy.
The ordinance is intended to protect neighborhood character and provide the town with data needed for enforcement and planning. Several residents had urged stronger controls. "These are businesses and not residences," resident Eryn Ryan told the board during earlier hearings, articulating neighbors’ concerns about noise, traffic and shared-driveway conflicts. The town’s new STR administrator will process registrations beginning April 1, 2024, and annual registrations will be required by July 1, 2024; penalties for noncompliance and staged civil fines are included in the ordinance.
Selectboard members said the rule seeks balance — allowing homeowners to rent responsibly while preventing unmanaged, commercial-scale conversions of residential stock that remove long-term housing. The ordinance also requires proof of state tax registration and fire-safety checks for larger-capacity units.
