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East Hampton wants tenant limits on private rentals
Proposal would allow no more than four unrelated people in a home
Regulators are mulling a bill that would make it harder for East Hampton homeowners to rent out their homes to large groups of unrelated people.
The bill would require homeowners to disclose a rental, along with the number of bedrooms and square footage of the homes, according to a draft proposal. The hope is that town officials can better enforce rules that restrict the number of unrelated people living in a rented home to four.
Owners would face a fine of at least $500 if they don’t register, the legislation, seen by the Wall Street Journal, states. It would deter using private homes as share houses, which refers to a large group of friends pooling together their money to rent a home. Renting share houses is a popular practice in the area.
“What we’re trying is more government oversight of rentals. I think that’s the best way to put it,” Bill Wilkinson, supervisor of East Hampton, told the newspaper.
The news has met with some opposition. “Trying to legislate people’s abilities to rent their own personal property would be met with some serious legal and personal objections,” John Keeshan, a veteran broker in Montauk, told the Journal. “It’s a strong-arm tactic of the town out of a sense of frustration.” [WSJ] – Hiten Samtani