Short-Term Rentals: Daily Notes | August 27, 2026
Cities address STRs. Brewster, MA launches registration program; Morgantown, KY covers rentals under room tax; Empire, MI approves ordinance 6-1; Wimberley, TX adopts rules and resumes permits; Folly Beach, SC halts new licenses; Santa Barbara County, CA; Middletown, RI. READ MORE.
BREWSTER, MA
A $300 annual fee will come with short-term rental registration in Brewster as the Cape Cod town prepares to launch its new program in January 2027. The select board takes a final vote on August 31 after three public hearings shaped rules requiring state mandated inspections and yearly renewal before November 1.
Brewster’s short-term rental bylaw establishes a town-wide registration and inspection program aimed at protecting public safety, preserving housing, and regulating STR operations. | Source: https://www.brewster-ma.gov/
The registration fee will support a permitting clerk and a building inspector along with a host compliance vendor to help oversee the more than 1,300 Brewster listings on the state registry. Renewals can be denied when owners have unpaid taxes or code violations while affordable housing units are barred from operating as rentals.
MORGANTOWN, KY
Short-term rentals are now squarely covered by the transient room tax in Morgantown after the city council approved Ordinance 2026-06 at its August 13 meeting. The updated wording explicitly names cabins, campsites, campgrounds, RV parks and any facilitator or broker who arranges rentals while clarifying the city can place liens on properties for unpaid amounts.
More regulation is on the way since Planning and Zoning held its first reading of dedicated short-term rental rules after officials observed a growing need. It is also reported that a second reading comes before the measure reaches council.
EMPIRE, MI
Years of debate over short-term rentals in Empire ended Tuesday night when the village council approved a registration ordinance by a 6-1 vote on August 25 with Meg Walton dissenting. A companion zoning amendment clarifying the definition of transient occupancy passed 5-2 with Walton and March Dye opposed.
The ordinance requires every STR owner to register with the village and stops short of capping rental numbers since officials want two years of registration data before weighing any restrictions. In the meantime, rentals stay permitted in everything from single-family homes to accessory dwelling units across the Michigan village.
WIMBERLEY, TX
After months of paused applications Wimberley City Council voted 4-1 on August 20 to adopt a new short-term rental ordinance and unanimously lift the moratorium in place since November 2025. The ordinance eliminates non-owner-occupied STR2 permits in R-2 and R-3 residential districts while allowing owner-occupied rentals in accessory dwelling units.
After a months-long process, Wimberley City Council adopted an ordinance and lifted the moratorium on short-term rental (STR) applications.
— Hays Free Press || News-Dispatch (@haysfreepress) August 27, 2026
Read at: https://t.co/SiLI7Gsydk
Commercial zones can now host short-term lodging facilities of up to 30 units as-of-right though owners still need to secure conditional use permits through a process that includes neighbor notifications and public hearings. Permits granted before the change remain valid and the city will resume processing new applications on September 3.
FOLLY BEACH, SC
A freeze on new short-term rental licenses is now official in Folly Beach after city council voted 4-1 on August 26 to approve the measure on final reading. The move answers an August 14 ruling in which a Charleston County judge struck down the city's voter-approved 800-license cap and deemed its permit fee an unlawful tax.
Anna Sharpe asharpepostandcourier.com
License renewals stay exempt along with waitlist offers and 72-day licenses plus 54 applications filed right after the ruling. The freeze holds until a regulatory study wraps up or the moratorium expires in 2027 while the city pursues its appeal.
Folly Beach pauses new Short-Term Rental licenses pending study results
— Quintin Washington (@QuintinReports) August 26, 2026
https://t.co/QLsJGAamT9#chsnews
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, CA
Nearly $66,000 in back lodging taxes will be forgiven for a Lompoc Valley farm after Santa Barbara County supervisors approved the waiver on a 3-2 vote on August 25, 2026. Dare 2 Dream Farms owed $65,840 in transient occupancy taxes and penalties from farmstay lodging offered between 2022 and 2025 in a camper, an Airstream trailer and two farmhouses.
The debt surpassed the farm's three-year net income by more than $84,000. Owners Megan and Jeremy Raff run the 40-acre operation founded in 2009 with an honor-system farm stand, educational tours and food insecurity partnerships.
MIDDLETOWN, RI
A divided 4-1 vote from Middletown's Zoning Board of Review on August 25 approved an owner-occupied short-term rental in the Birchwood Manor neighborhood despite objections from three neighbors over parking congestion and oversight. The applicant plans to live downstairs while renting three upstairs bedrooms and the property offers roughly six off-street parking spaces.
Middletown Zoning Board Agenda, August 25, 2026
The board also cleared a demolition and rebuild at 559 Walcott Avenue that preserves a grandfathered four-bedroom rental registration. Two other petitions including a Crest Street short-term rental were continued to September 22.
📱 Social Buzz
🎤 Episode Title: Episode 407 - The STR Playbook for Buying, Launching & Maximizing Reven
🎤 Episode: Vacation Rental Revolution Podcast: Building Lifestyle & Financial Freedom With Short-Term Rentals
📻 Listen: https://vodyssey.com/
Doing away with the ban on Air bnbs and Vrbos could allow Lake Worth to charge the owners of short-term rentals higher water rates than homeowners. https://t.co/lV4kuG56IO
— The Palm Beach Post (@pbpost) August 27, 2026
Short-term rentals (STRs) continue to be a problem for residents—particularly in South Scottsdale.🏘️
— Barry Graham (@BarrySGraham) August 26, 2026
This week, City Council took another step to protect residents from STR bad actors by closing a loophole that allowed operators to ignore complaints. ✅🏜️ pic.twitter.com/wZrOLOixAo
Code Enforcement Officer Morganne Lanni discusses St. Augustine’s growing enforcement program, short-term rentals, Cityworks, permitting, and what property owners should know before starting renovations.
— City of St. Augustine (@CityStAug) August 26, 2026
🎧 Listen: https://t.co/MNf7ZtDhbd
#SmartCityPolicy is hosting our Texas County leaders on issues, including;
— mattcurtis (@mattcurtis) August 26, 2026
Short-term Rental Compliance
eVTOLs (Air Taxis)
Commercial Drone Delivery Sites #shorttermrentals #evtol #commercialdrones @leagueofcities pic.twitter.com/cyzM3Uqk5O
North Wichita suburb looks at regulating short-term rentals https://t.co/mdIu7RYNkr
— kansasdotcom (@kansasdotcom) August 27, 2026
In case you missed it:
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