Short-Term Rentals: Daily Notes | October 27, 2026
Cities address STRs. New Buffalo Township, MI approves one-year rental moratorium; Madison, AL weighs rental appeals board after 42 notices; Indianapolis, IN targets Halloween parties; Puerto Rico hoteliers push hotel-level rules; West Jefferson, NC rental break-in leads to arrest. READ MORE.
NEW BUFFALO TOWNSHIP, MI
A one-year moratorium on new short-term rentals won approval from the Board of Trustees on October 26 while the township weighs how to respond to resident complaints with a town hall dedicated to the issue set for November 9.
Supervisor Michelle Heit said a rental ordinance adopted around 2018 eased many problems but rentals are now clustering in residential neighborhoods where some new homes sleep as many as 14 guests so trustees aim to add rentals to the zoning ordinance.
MADISON, AL
Ordinance 2026-444 which City Council took up on October 26 would create a five-member Short-Term Rental Appeals Board and give operators 15 days to appeal a permit denial, suspension or revocation while the board must hear each case within 60 days.
Madison, Alabama’s proposed Ordinance 2026-444 would establish a five-member Short-Term Rental Appeals Board to review permit denials, suspensions, and revocations. | Source: City of Madison, Ordinance 2026-444 (PDF)
Members would include one employee each from the police, planning and fire departments, and the ordinance sets a suspension of at least six months after three substantiated complaints within 12 months. The city issued 42 notices after finding 57 listings operating past the October 1 permit deadline.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN
Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/TQMFM9nCgn4
Halloween weekend police patrols will cover several neighborhoods while Airbnb uses artificial intelligence to block bookings likely to turn into parties, flagging reservations made at the last minute or by guests who live close to the listing. Flagged guests can still book private rooms or hotels but not entire homes and the screening stopped about 125 people from booking over Halloween weekend in 2025.
The push follows a June party at a Broad Ripple rental that ended with gunfire hitting nearby homes and a May after-prom party shooting at a rental that killed a woman and injured two people.
PUERTO RICO
Mandatory fire safety inspections, accessibility compliance and standardized tourist tax collection for short-term rentals top the agenda the Puerto Rico Hotel and Tourism Association outlined this week under new chair Joaquín Bolívar III, who took the post for the 2026 to 2028 term.
Puerto Rico's House Bill 1518, Short-Term Rental Regulation
Introduced October 15, 2026, the proposed legislation would centralize short-term rental registration under the Puerto Rico Tourism Company and establish standardized tax collection and municipal revenue distribution procedures.
The hoteliers are not seeking a ban on platforms such as Airbnb or Vrbo, instead asking that rentals meet the same operational, safety and fiscal rules as registered inns and hotels while also lobbying for a larger, protected funding stream for Discover Puerto Rico, the island’s destination marketing organization.
WEST JEFFERSON, NC
Charges of felony first-degree burglary and assault on a female were filed against a 33-year-old New Jersey man after the Ashe County Sheriff’s Office arrested him on October 21 for kicking in the door of a short-term rental near West Jefferson where a woman inside shot him on October 13.
Deputies had responded the previous evening to a domestic dispute reported by an out-of-town woman and named him as the suspect in that case as well. Sheriff Phil Howell said he supports the right to lawful self-defense while the man is being held without bond.
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🎤 Episode Title: 📈 California to vote on world first billionaire tax, NextDC faces more backlash, Airbnb bans check-out chores for guests & more
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The Colorado Supreme Court agreed to review whether the ski resort town of Breckenridge needed voter approval to impose an annual fee on short term rentals intended to defray housing costs for the local workforce. https://t.co/wYMyTGl8Nk
— Bloomberg Tax (@tax) October 24, 2026
Government may issue the city short term rental ban, and citizens can still reject it.
— Citizen (@JeffGunson74358) October 24, 2026
City Council banned all home-based short-term rentals citywide with no grandfathering for existing hosts. Citizens record a verdict on this measure: Accept or Reject. https://t.co/RiVBgZZ1c2 pic.twitter.com/Ao5uVeIJm6
The city says more than 300 units were advertised in a building permitted for 30 short-term rentals, and the developer says the city cited the wrong property. Read more at the link in our bio pic.twitter.com/awpRrmzftQ
— CBS Miami (@CBSMiami) October 24, 2026
Orange, New Jersey wants a two-night minimum for short-term rentals, and it saw the workaround coming.
— Furnished Rentals Report (@FurnishedReport) October 24, 2026
The draft bans splitting one stay into separate bookings. Hosts must answer the phone within 30 minutes and show up within 60 if asked.
Final vote is Nov 4.
🇺🇸 BREAKING NEWS | MIAMI CRACKS DOWN ON ILLEGAL SHORT-TERM RENTALS 🚨
— Eyeworldnewsdigital (@eyeworldnews444) October 24, 2026
Miami officials are stepping up enforcement against alleged violations involving short-term rentals in Brickell, after the city flagged a building reportedly advertising more than 300 units despite permission…
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