Short-Term Rentals: Daily Notes | October 1, 2026

ROCHESTER, NY

Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/5joQ-F2GgLM

No new non-owner-occupied short-term rental permits will be granted in Rochester during 2027 after the town board unanimously set the cap at zero following a letter from Housing Advisory Committee member Alana Blum urging that none be issued or waitlisted. Blum also asked the board to renew only those permits required by law.

Rochester NY short-term rental regulations

Understand Rochester’s short-term rental rules, permits, taxes, and safety requirements for Airbnb and VRBO hosts, including insurance obligations.

SteadilyZoe Harper

A September 2025 county comptroller report cited by Blum counts 238 active rentals among 4,240 households or about 5% against a county guideline of 2% with 124 active town permits including 69 non-owner-occupied and 114 rentals registered with the county but not the town. Supervisor Erin Enouen said the county will no longer approve permits without town sign-off and the committee plans to propose amendments in early 2027.

MAUI COUNTY, HI

Hotel zoning for 32 vacation rental condominium complexes in Māʻalaea and Kīhei and West Maui advanced when the Maui County Council voted 5-4 on September 29, 2026 to refer two rezoning bills to the Maui Planning Commission under Resolution 26-129. The resolution rezones nothing and refers bills that would move 19 A-1 Apartment properties to H-3 Hotel and 13 A-2 Apartment properties to H-4 Hotel so transient vacation rentals can continue despite the phase-out under Bill 9 (Ordinance 5909).

The commission must hold hearings first and the Council would need six of nine votes to pass the bills over a negative recommendation after the commission approved only five of 48 properties in an earlier referral. Council Members Keani Rawlins-Fernandez and Gabe Johnson and Shane Sinenci and Tamara Paltin voted no while Vice Chair Yuki Lei Sugimura said the phase-out could cost $94 million a year in tax revenue.

ISLAND COUNTY, WA

Commissioner Melanie Bacon said the board plans to implement a permitting system for short-term rentals in 2027 and study related development regulations under the comprehensive plan because no countywide rules currently govern rentals. She wants a rebalancing toward housing for locals since the market leans too heavily toward rentals in her personal view.

A Message from Commissioner Bacon

Island County, Washington

Planning assistant director Emily Neff said vacation homes and rentals remove units from long-term housing and push prices up although rentals support tourism where hotels are limited. A Census analysis counts more than 4,000 homes or about 10% of the housing stock as seasonal or occasional and about 54% of renters are cost-burdened while the county gave $650,000 to 210 renter households facing 14-day pay-or-vacate notices in 2025.

YOLO COUNTY, CA

Hotels, Airbnb rentals and other stays of 30 days or less in Yolo County would pay a 12% transient occupancy tax instead of 8% starting January 1, 2027 if voters approve Measure X on the November 3, 2026 ballot. The general tax under Ordinance No. 1585 needs a simple majority and would match the rate Davis, West Sacramento and Sacramento County already charge.

County staff estimate the increase would raise about $250,000 a year from the 10 properties identified in a May report as the county works through a shortfall of more than $35 million that led it to eliminate 150 positions in June. Supervisors placed the measure on the ballot by a 4-0 vote on June 2, 2026 with Angel Barajas recused and no argument against it was filed.

FOLLY BEACH, SC

A $50,000 winter study of six possible changes to the short-term rental cap begins once City Council awards the study contract on October 13, 2026 after four firms answered the August request for proposals by September 28, 2026. Options include letting every property rent up to 72 days a year, exempting multifamily and commercial district properties, widening medical hardship exemptions and allowing license transfers.

Resident Vince Perna asked council on September 15, 2026 why scrapping the cap was left out after Deputy City Administrator Wes Graham asked in a July 20, 2026 email that a slide listing that option be cut at the mayor's request. Mayor Chris Bizzell said the RFP is not the study and the firm will take council and public input first.

TEXAS

Businesses that pay marketplace fees for services such as short-term rentals and food and grocery delivery and ride-sharing and pet care could see what the Comptroller's office calls two layers of taxation removed under an executive order signed by Comptroller Don Huffines that reverses a 2025 interpretation. The order drops marketplace and platform fees from taxable data processing services.

Comptroller Don Huffines Ends Hidden Double Tax on Texas Families and Small Businesses

(AUSTIN) — Texas Comptroller Don Huffines today signed an executive order to abolish a hidden tax that hit Texans twice when they ordered food, booked a ride, or shopped online.“For the past year,

comptroller.texas.govTexas Comptroller of Public Accounts

Under the reading adopted by former Comptroller Glenn Hegar a business could be taxed on the platform fee while the customer also paid sales tax on the purchase even though the data processing tax dates to 1987. The change must still clear rulemaking and a 30-day public comment period will follow.

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In case you missed it:

Short-Term Rentals: Daily Notes | September 30, 2026

Cities address STRs. San Luis Obispo County, CA weighs rental rules; Scottsdale, AZ candidates debate rentals; Bellingham, WA ADU ban struck down; Shiloh, IL approves permits; Maryville, MO denies applications. READ MORE.

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Short-Term Rentals: Daily Notes | September 29, 2026

Cities address STRs. Chatham County, GA ends moratorium with 5% cap; Encinitas, CA moves to three-year permits; Kittitas County, WA testimony resumes Oct. 13; Cassadaga, NY weighs $250 fee; New York, NY business groups petition; Westfield, IN. READ MORE.

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Short-Term Rentals: Daily Notes | September 28, 2026

Cities address STRs. Atlanta, GA strips residency cap; Florida fraud law effective Oct. 1; Peninsula, OH ballot Issue 47; Dunes City, OR host mandate vote; Saranac Lake, NY hearing set; Jeffersonville, IN zone expanded; Dunkirk, NY; Carmel, IN; Hocking County, OH; Jim Thorpe, PA. READ MORE.

Strisker - Short-Term Rental and Data Center regulationsJas Albatana

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