Daily Regulatory Notes 04/21/2025
Cities address STRs. Maryland passes legislation; Gloucester, MA grandfathers existing STRs; Santa Monica, CA tightens enforcement; Manistee, MI rejects ordinance; Warren County, VA approves STR application; Pacifica, CA finalizes revision to ordinance. READ MORE.
Every day, we bring you a detailed overview of recent news and updates about primary decisions, community feedback, or legislative changes relevant to the short-term rental industry. 📰
Maryland
Maryland has passed legislation to centralize hotel tax collection from short-term rental platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo aiming to close enforcement gaps and boost local revenue.
Under SB 979 / HB 1103, starting in 2028, qualifying platforms—those with over $100,000 in sales or 200 bookings annually—must remit taxes directly to the State Comptroller rather than counties. With strong advocacy from the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo), lawmakers agreed to delay implementation until 2027 to allow for local coordination and data-sharing protocols.
Gloucester councilors voted to grandfather existing short-term rentals permanently from future rental duration limits removing a sunset clause that would’ve taken effect in three years.
Under the revised rules, STRs registered with the state by April 1 are exempt from the six-month and 120-day rental caps for primary and non-primary units, respectively—unless the property changes hands. While council preserved the 500-unit limit for non-primary STRs, a proposal to allow more than one unit per operator was left undecided due to a meeting time cutoff, with a final vote now set for April 22.
```Santa Monica is tightening its grip on problem properties, including short-term rentals, with a new ordinance introduced by the City Council.
The proposed law expands the city’s definition of a public nuisance, gives code enforcement officers broader authority, and creates new incentives to correct violations. Property owners who rack up five or more violations related to tenant protections, housing codes, or building regulations in a year would face harsher penalties. Officials also flagged short-term rentals as a significant contributor to the city’s uncollected citation revenue — with STR violations making up part of the 73% of unpaid fines.
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Manistee’s long-awaited short-term rental ordinance hit another roadblock as City Council voted 4–3 against even introducing the proposal. Despite months of work by the planning commission, planning staff, and the council’s own ordinance committee, the measure failed to move forward.
Councilmembers Wesley Smith, Liz Laskey, Kay Keck, and Jim Grabowski opposed the motion, citing concerns over key provisions like the proposed cap of 165 short-term rentals outside designated overlay zones.
At its April 15 meeting, the Warren County Board of Supervisors approved two new short-term tourist rental applications with no public opposition.
Conditional Use Permits were granted to Paul Bell for a property on Jonathan Road and to Elizabeth Baxter and Saurabh Prakash for a property on Riley Court—both located in Residential-One zones. The approvals followed brief discussion and support from staff, with both applicants present to answer questions.
Pacifica has finalized major revisions to its short-term rental ordinance establishing stricter caps and operational rules in an effort to curb corporate ownership and preserve housing stock.
Councilmembers voted to limit unhosted STRs to 60 nights per year — down from the previously proposed 90 — and confirmed bans on STR use in ADUs. The revised rules also tighten eligibility, requiring STR operators to be natural persons and available to respond to complaints within 30 minutes.
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Genelaine Urbano
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Dane Artisola