Bulletin - Suffolk County, NY News Today
The North Fork town's draft code would replace a decade-old ban with a 1% per-hamlet cap, a biennial permit lottery, $3,000 minimum fines and a proposed January 2028 start
Suffolk County's Southold Moves to Cap Short-Term Rentals at 119 Lottery Permits
The North Fork town's draft code would replace a decade-old ban with a 1% per-hamlet cap, a biennial permit lottery, $3,000 minimum fines and a proposed January 2028 start
Photo from https://deeradvisor.dnr.cornell.edu/
The Town Board of Southold on Long Island's North Fork in Suffolk County agreed at its October 21 Code Committee meeting to cap short-term rental permits at 1% of the housing stock in each hamlet which would allow 119 rentals townwide under a new permit system that replaces the current ban on stays of fewer than 14 nights. Board members called the figure an initial decision, and it settles one of the last open questions before public hearings.
From a Ban to a Lottery
Southold has prohibited rentals of fewer than 14 consecutive nights since 2015 yet the town estimates that nearly 1,000 operate anyway and in April it began using Rentalscape software to flag unpermitted listings. The draft Article XXXVIII of the zoning code would redefine a short-term rental as any stay under 30 consecutive days and hand out two-year permits only through a random public lottery with no right to renewal and no priority for past applicants.
Nick Mongiovi
Each owner could hold one permit and an interest in no more than one short-term rental in town and planners proposed opening applications in June 2027 so the first permits start in January 2028. A companion draft of the accessory apartment rules would also bar accessory units from short-term or seasonal use and allow them to be rented only year-round under a rental permit.
How the 119 Cap Breaks Down
The town’s percentage analysis spreads the permits across nine hamlets from 35 in Southold hamlet down to 2 in New Suffolk with a 2% cap that will allow 239 permits. Planners told the board the program would cost an estimated $643,000 over two years which works out to $5,403 per permit at 1% against $2,690 at 2% and Supervisor Al Krupski said the board landed back on 1% after its review.
The analysis counts only single-family homes while the draft defines the cap by residential dwelling units so the final number could shift once the Planning Department sets the count. Planners said Fishers Island would sit outside the cap, a question the draft still leaves open.
Southold’s existing accessory dwelling unit (ADU) code, dated October 20, 2026, outlines requirements for attached and detached accessory apartments including occupancy, parking, rental permits, and eligibility restrictions. | Source: Town of Southold ADU Code
Operator Requirements and Penalties
Owners would first need a standard $300 rental permit with the lottery permit fee left to a later board resolution. Applications must include a parking plan, a waste removal plan, and proof of at least $1 million in liability coverage which platform insurance cannot satisfy while properties on cesspools are ineligible.
Southold’s official zoning update page provides meeting summaries, proposed code revisions, and supporting documents for the town’s housing and short-term rental regulations. | Source: Town of Southold Zoning Update, Progress Reports.
Listings must show the permit number and an operator must be reachable around the clock and answer complaints within 60 minutes. A first offense would carry a fine of $3,000 to $10,000, a second offense within five years would bring $5,000 to $20,000 and revocation with each week of violation counted separately.
⦾ Status: Draft code under Code Committee review; not yet adopted
⦾ Definition: Any rental of less than 30 consecutive days (currently, rentals of fewer than 14 nights are banned)
⦾ Permit cap: 1% of housing stock per hamlet, 119 permits townwide; Fishers Island excluded from the count
⦾ Allocation: Random public lottery every two years; two-year permits with no renewal right
⦾ Limits: One permit per owner; cesspool-served properties ineligible
⦾ Fees: $300 base rental permit (per planners); lottery permit fee to be set by Town Board resolution
⦾ Requirements: Parking plan, waste removal plan, $1 million liability insurance, permit number on listings, 60-minute operator response
⦾ Penalties: $3,000 to $10,000 first offense; $5,000 to $20,000 plus revocation for a second within five years; up to $1,000 for unpermitted occupants
⦾ Proposed timeline: Applications June 2027, lottery fall 2027, permits from January 2028 (the draft text still says it takes effect upon state filing)
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