County to regulate short-term rental platforms — Airbnb, Craigslist, FlipKey and HomeAway — and rental property owners.
Montgomery County’s short-term rental law will go into effect July 1, 2018. Owners who rent their properties or rooms online for less than 30 days will have to register and license their rentals.
A Montgomery County news release explains:
A short-term residential rental is a unit/room in a single-family home, apartment or condominium that is available for a fee for less than 30 consecutive days through online sites such as Airbnb, Craigslist, FlipKey and HomeAway.
Property owners who rent their property, or part of their property, for short-term lodging must also pay the County’s Room Rental and Transient Tax, through the Department of Finance, Division of Treasury, a requirement that went into effect July 1, 2017.
As the news release notes, Montgomery joins the ranks of jurisdictions across the country that require licensing or regulation for the burgeoning industry.
During the 2018 session MACo supported two bills to require short-term rentals, such as Airbnb, and individuals who act as hosts on those platforms to be registered with the Comptroller and regulated. Unfortunately, Senate Bill 1081 did not make it out of committee and House Bill 1604 was given an unfavorable report by the House Economic Matters Committee.
Read the news release for more information.
