Amenia board weighs in on AirBnBs and short-term rentals

AMENIA — A continuing topic of discussion at previous meetings — the issue of AirBnBs and short-term rentals — was addressed as an agenda item at the regular meeting of the Housing Board on Thursday, Sept. 19.

To be decided was whether the Housing Board would agree to ask the Town Board to consider drafting regulations to govern such rental opportunities. Following discussion, the consensus of the board was to forgo that request and leave such rentals unhampered by regulation, at least for now.

When the Comprehensive Plan Review Committee reconvenes assisted by a professional planner, however, the housing board agreed that the issue of short-term rentals is likely to come up again and can be dealt with then.

During discussion, Housing Board member Josh Frankel was concerned that AirBnB rentals impact the availability of workforce housing opportunities for local workers. He also wondered about the impact of any regulation on homeowners who want to rent their home to a tenant if they are going to be out of town for an extended period.

Another issue raised by Frankel involved absent homeowners seeking to rent the property to tenants for its income potential.
Frankel suggested that a regulation could be drafted to define and clarify the various iterations of such short-term rentals.

The potential for short-term rentals to be good for local businesses was discussed.

Newly appointed board member Juan Torres, attending his first board meeting, noted the importance of the town addressing workforce housing as a priority.

“We want the community to thrive,” Torres commented.

Housing Board chairman Charlie Miller said that although he opposes regulation on principle, the intent of any regulation would be to put rental inventory back into the long-term rental market, particularly that portion of the inventory where the owner is permanently absent.