Like many towns across the country, York, Maine has seen a significant increase in the number of short-term rentals (STRs) driven largely by online booking platforms, such as Vrbo, Airbnb, Homeaway and other vacation rental websites. These investment properties have been growing in number due to the lucrative market for vacation rentals, and incentivized due to a lack of a local ordinance. As a result, the town is experiencing both positive and negative consequences. Arguably, STRs are an important component of our local economy; “Home Sharing” or owner occupied rentals provide important supplemental income to the resident with little impact on the surrounding area. However, in many areas of town, the unregulated "hotels" are supplanting neighborhoods and significantly impacting quality of life for our neighbors and the safety of our guests. Most concerning to all, is the sale of these investment properties are heavily influencing our residential property tax burden. Many neighbors have realized a doubling of their property taxes in one fiscal year.

 

York’s Current Short-Term Rental Policy: 
Currently, Short Term Rentals in York remain unregulated and the town has no mechanism for managing, or even identifying, these properties. Without a system for registering or permitting rentals, there’s no way to know if these properties are safe for our visitors. Short Term Rentals have no inspection requirements and no set safety standards, unlike those for a hotel or bed and breakfast.

The lack of an effective ordinance regulating STR activity has had significant repercussions. These issues would be mitigated if the town adopted a sensible and enforceable ordinance that appropriately balances the rights of all York homeowners.