Short-Term Rentals: Daily Notes | September 17, 2026
Cities address STRs. Maryland requires alarms Oct. 1; Nantucket, MA rejects rollback; Guadalupe, CA tax to 12%; Hawaii County, HI stalls again; Lake Township, MI opens all districts; Twentynine Palms, CA bans ADU rentals; Westerly, RI; Otsego, NY; Nashville, TN; Hilton Head, SC. READ MORE.
MARYLAND
A fire extinguisher, working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, a posted evacuation diagram and emergency numbers become mandatory in every Maryland short-term rental on October 1, 2026 when the Jillian and Lindsay Wiener Short-Term Rental Safety Act takes effect. HB 1221 cleared the House 111-16 and the Senate 44-0 before Gov. Wes Moore signed it as Chapter 9 on April 14, 2026.
Maryland’s HB 1221, the Jillian and Lindsay Wiener Short-Term Rental Safety Act, establishes new fire-safety requirements for short-term rentals.
The law covers stays under 30 consecutive days and requires alarms audible in every sleeping area that should be replaced once they pass 10 years. Counties must adopt annual inspection laws by July 1, 2028 and may charge fees while Hagerstown Assistant Fire Chief Adam Hopkins said the rules bring hotel-style evacuation postings into Eastern Shore rentals and western Maryland cabins.
NANTUCKET, MA
Watch on Youtube
A short-term rental ban on 36 Sandpiper Place lots at Richmond Great Point stays in place after the Select Board unanimously rejected a request to allow short-term rentals at Sandpiper Place on September 16. Nantucket Property Owners which bought the lots in 2022 argued through attorney Johanna Schneider that the restriction is inequitable and chills sales of the remaining ownership units.
Nantucket, MA: Co-Owner Of Richmond #AffordableHousing Development Seeking Rollback Of Restriction On Short-Term Rentals: https://t.co/HgASyLZcFN #landuse #STR
— Don Pinto (@massdirtlaw) September 15, 2026
The prohibition dates to a memorandum of agreement signed more than a decade ago that let the development proceed. Vice Chair Brooke Mohr said the goal was a year-round community while Chair Dawn Hill said she has seen Richmond rentals advertised and wants enforcement even after Town Meeting legalized rentals in most districts on November 5, 2025.
GUADALUPE, CA
A doubling of the lodging tax from 6% to 12% on stays of 30 days or less heads to the November 2026 ballot as Guadalupe voters decide Measure J-2026 which covers short-term rentals, hotels, RV parks and campgrounds after redefining hotel as lodging facility. City Administrator David Trujillo said the tax brings in $10,000 to $15,000 a year and could reach about $30,000 if approved.
Guadalupe's Resolution No. 2026-31, Transient Occupancy Tax Measure
Guadalupe City Council resolution placing Measure J-2026 on the November 2026 ballot, proposing to increase the city’s transient occupancy tax from 6% to 12% and apply it to short-term rentals, among others.
The city has identified only 5 to 10 short-term rentals so the gain is modest and Trujillo noted a future 100-room hotel at 50% occupancy could yield about $100,000 a year. Passage needs a simple majority and the rate would start in January while neighboring Solvang and Buellton already charge about 16%.
HAWAII COUNTY, HI
A vacation rental overhaul that would drop the use permit requirement for qualifying rentals of 180 days or less stalled again when the Policy Committee on Planning, Land Use and Economic Development deferred Bill 147 for a second time on September 15, 2026 after the meeting ran long. The bill returns on October 6, 2026 after an earlier deferral on September 1, 2026.
Hawaiʻi County Policy Committee agenda and meeting documents for Sept. 15, 2026 covering Bill 147 and the proposed vacation rental rule changes. | Source: https://hawaiicounty.granicus.com/
Sponsor Heather Kimball calls Bill 147 a housekeeping measure aligning county code with state law that would also expand the zoning districts where vacation rentals are allowed and add management standards, punitive fines and an enforcement fund. Kimball wants to relabel bed and breakfast and short term vacation rental as hosted and unhosted which Councilwoman Jennifer Kagiwada called very clear.
LAKE TOWNSHIP, MI
A zoning amendment that would allow short-term rentals in all zoning districts went before residents when the Lake Township Board held a public hearing on September 17 at Lake Township Hall. The legal notice lists the rental change first in a package that also defines detached garages, lot coverage and see-through fences and revises rules on porta potties, accessory structures and mobile food vending.
The notice frames the amendments as protecting residents' health, safety and welfare but says nothing about permits, caps or fees. Township Clerk Andrea Grabowski accepted written comments by both mail and email while the draft with planning commission changes remains available at the clerk's office.
TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA
Accessory dwelling units in Twentynine Palms would be closed to short-term guests under an ordinance the Planning Commission approved unanimously as the city aims to bring its ADU laws in line with the state with the City Council to take it up this October. Any tenant in an ADU or junior ADU would need a lease of at least 30 days while owners holding an approved Vacation Home Rental permit could keep renewing it until it expires, is revoked or is abandoned.
Official Sept. 15, 2026 Twentynine Palms Planning Commission agenda including the proposed update to the city’s ADU and junior ADU regulations. | Source: https://citwentynine-palmsca.civicweb.net/
The rewrite of code 19.134 which is last updated in 2023 lifts the ADU size cap from 850 to 1,200 square feet, allows up to 8 detached ADUs on multifamily lots of at least 20,000 square feet and offers fast-track review for standardized plans.
WESTERLY, RI
A dedicated workshop on September 21 is the next stop for Westerly's short-term rental ordinance after the Town Council delayed the ordinance to a workshop by voice vote last September 14. Members first suspended the council's rules of procedure to reach the item and one said the council had promised a session with more back-and-forth than regular meetings allow.
The workshop is meant to hear from rental advocates and opponents alike and to compare ordinances from other communities. One member said the council is not set on any of the drafts shown to the public over the last three meetings, leaving owners without a clear adoption timeline.
OTSEGO, NY
Owner-occupancy rules are back among the options for regulating short-term rentals in the Town of Otsego after the posted 2026 comprehensive plan update said short-term rentals and residential development are still on the table. The housing section tells officials to explore ordinances for stays under 30 days that may include owner-occupancy, local ownership, grandfathering existing rentals until sale or density-based limits on a two-year timeline.
That marks a shift from August 2026 when Councilmember Deb Dalton said the plan would not recommend owner-occupancy, a rule rental owners called unfair and unrealistic. Public hearings are planned with no dates announced while Planning Board meetings move to October 6 and October 27, 2026.
NASHVILLE, TN
A five-bedroom East Nashville house that sleeps 12 kept booking guests after a city ban and the host's death, still staying live on Airbnb and Vrbo six days after Metro ordered the listings removed on September 9, 2026. Metro had denied the $889,600 Lischey Avenue property a short-term rental permit in 2022 and documented continued operation in 2024.
The Nashville Editorial Team
The host account still answered under the name of former owner Nurbek Ulmasov who died November 9, 2025 after signing a quitclaim deed to his sister 18 days earlier. Airbnb removed the listing once questioned while the Vrbo listing was still active on September 16, 2026 with Airbnb saying hosts are responsible for complying with local laws.
HILTON HEAD, SC
Short-term rental occupancy on Hilton Head slipped 1% in both June and July 2026 to 69% and 73% while hotels held steady at 73% and 75%, according to a chamber report on whether hotels and short-term rentals did better or worse this summer. The Hilton Head-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce presented the May through July figures to Town Council on September 15, 2026 with May rental occupancy up 3% to 52%.
Average rental rates stayed at $432 in May, fell $10 to $601 in June and rose $4 to $604 in July as hotel rates climbed to $304. Chamber Research Manager Chase O'Dell blamed higher gas prices, said one- to three-bedroom rentals took the biggest hit and expects a rebound in October.
📱 Social Buzz
🎤 Episode Title: What the Folly Beach Short-Term Rental Ruling Means for You
🎤 Episode: The Mikki Ramey Podcast
📻 Listen: https://mikkiramey.com/what-the-folly-beach-short-term-rental-ruling-means-for-you.html
Port Hueneme approves new rules, permits, fees for vacation rentals https://t.co/zc4WoA76SI
— Ventura County Star (@vcstar) September 16, 2026
Councilmember Shebra Evans has introduced a bill to close compliance gaps in short-term rentals, aiming to recover nearly $1 million in lost county revenue.
— Moderately Moco (@ModeratelyMoco) September 16, 2026
Greenville City Council approved the largest single annexation in city history, adding 135 acres along Woodruff Road and I-385.
— Greenville Journal (@gvljournal) September 16, 2026
Also discussed: Swamp Rabbit Trail improvements, utility undergrounding and short-term rental rules.https://t.co/L8jxdadxJf
Update:
— Jessica Sheedy Black (@jjsheedy) September 16, 2026
Councilman gets Youngstown, Ohio short term rental where over 200 shots were fired during a recent party taken off @Airbnb https://t.co/PyxMScPMHJ
"On Monday night, the City Council unanimously approved a new ordinance that includes an enforcement plan, pricey penalties and new rules for VRBOs, Airbnbs and other vacation rentals. It takes effect mid-October."
— Stephen Hero (@odonnchadha) September 15, 2026
In case you missed it:
Jasmine Ruth Albatana
Jasmine Ruth Albatana
Jasmine Ruth Albatana
Strisker Document Analysis
Finding the right compliance documents shouldn’t feel like searching for a needle in a haystack - Strisker’s Documents Analysis is built to simplify your life, offering instant access to hundreds of thousands of documents from thousands of cities across the world.
Stay Updated with Strisker!
Strisker offers tools and features to keep you updated with the Short Term Rental movement (and now Data Centers!) movement across the world.
👍 We’d love your feedback.
Which stories hit? Which ones missed?
We're constantly refining Daily Notes to make it even more useful for you.
✉️ Just reply directly to this email. We read and respond to every message!
-Will McClure
🙋 P.S.
Know someone else who should be reading Daily Notes? Feel free to forward this along. We’re opening a few more spots.