Short-Term Rentals: Daily Notes | September 21, 2026

DEXTER TOWNSHIP, MI

Bed and breakfast owners in Dexter Township must now sleep on-site whenever guests do under updated zoning standards the Township Board approved on September 15, 2026 which also add a formal short-term rental definition while keeping short-term rentals prohibited. A qualifying bed and breakfast is an owner-occupied single-family home that serves as the owner's principal residence with guest stays capped at 30 consecutive days and the owner allowed off the property only for limited periods during the day.

Board members had decided at an August 18, 2026 discussion that draft language on parties and gatherings went too far so that section was cut to match neighboring communities before the final vote. Supervisor Lonnie Scott said the point of the rewrite is clarity on both the bed and breakfast rules and the rental prohibition.

ALAMEDA, CA

Hosts in Alameda would be limited to renting their own primary residence under an ordinance City Council advanced 3-1 on September 15, 2026 with Mayor Ashcraft, Vice Mayor Pryor and Councilmember Daysog in favor while Councilmember Jensen abstaining and Councilmember Boller recused. Home-sharing with the host present and vacation rentals during a temporary absence both survive though subsidized units, homes emptied under the Ellis Act and most accessory dwelling units are shut out of the program.

Anyone who has hosted for at least one year may keep one non-primary unit under a legacy clause and every existing operator gets a 90-day amnesty to apply for a permit before occupancy limits, noise and trash rules, an event ban and a liability insurance requirement kick in with warnings, suspensions or civil fines behind them. Operator Dona Fisher whose three units paid $14,000 in occupancy taxes last year called it an overcorrection and staff will report on the results in January 2028.

City of Alameda - File #: 2026-6223

Title: Introduction of Ordinance Amending the Alameda Municipal Code by Adding Section 30-19 (Short Term Rentals) of Chapter 30 (Development Regulations) to Establish Zoning Regulations for Short Term Rental of Residential Property, Applicable Citywide. This action is exempt from environmental review under Section 15061 of the California Environmental Quality Act (common sense exemption) because it would not result in any new construction or substantial change of use. (Planning Building and Transportation Department 20962710)

File #: 2026-6223Granicus, Inc.

ROCKPORT, ME

Every rental unit in Rockport including short-term rentals would need annual registration if voters approve a Rental Housing Unit Ordinance the Select Board sent to the November 3, 2026 ballot on a 5-0 vote September 14, 2026 that requires owners to hold a certificate of occupancy and pay applicable fees and renew each year. Planning and Community Development Director Orion Thomas said the measure closes a gap where commercial buildings get inspected but a house converted into apartments does not.

Board member Samantha Appleton worried that opposition from short-term rental owners could sink the question and that some might stop advertising openly so Chair Denis Munger answered that the ordinance treats all rentals alike. Voters will also decide a second question that trims the maximum building height from 35 feet to 32 feet to ease housing development.

WAITSFIELD, VT

Nobody in Waitsfield knows exactly how many short-term rentals the town has with Planning and Zoning Administrator JB Weir estimating 150 to 160, and that missing data is part of why the Planning Commission presented a registry proposal to the Select Board modeled on a Vermont League of Cities and Towns template. The registry sets baseline standards for occupancy, parking, garbage and emergency contacts, requires a key-access box for firefighters, imposes no cap on listings and relies on self-verification with follow-up only when neighbors complain.

The board took no vote because Vice Chair Larissa Ursprung wants conversations with owners first and the Short-Term Rental Alliance has already signaled interest. This made the Town Administrator York Haverkamp to line up those talks along with the Mad River Valley Chamber of Commerce while the town runs a legal review.

TOWNSEND, TN

Three commissioners took the oath of office on September 15, 2026 and got straight to work as the Board of Commissioners discussed a draft ordinance that would prohibit new short-term rentals in the R-1 Residential zone, an area covering about half the city. The session was meant to gather input for the Planning Commission rather than to vote and because the commission must act before a public hearing and two board votes, November 2026 is the earliest a final decision could land.

Existing permit holders in R-1 would keep operating with that right transferring on sale which did not satisfy two Cades Cove Reserve residents in R-2 who urged the board not to extend the ban to their zone. The city's vendor has meanwhile narrowed its list of rentals to 87 properties with 10 probables still to verify, Don Prater was elected mayor 3-1-1, and the board next meets October 20, 2026.

NORFOLK, VA

Willoughby's rental map could freeze in place under an overlay City Council reviewed at a September 15, 2026 work session which would block any new vacation rental within 300 feet of an existing one west of 3rd View Street and shut out new triplex or multi-family properties entirely. The City Planning Commission recommended the Short-Term Rental Limitation Overlay on August 27, 2026 at the request of the Willoughby Civic League which wants less rental concentration in the neighborhood.

Single and two-family homes outside the buffer could still register administratively, operators with approvals as of June 1, 2026 get an administrative path to re-apply, and homestays with the owner present are untouched by the change. What remains is timing since council has yet to set a public hearing date.

Short-Term Rental Revisions - Willoughby | City of Norfolk, Virginia - Official Website

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SKOKIE, IL

A $550 fee schedule and one-night minimum for owner-occupied short-term rentals remain unadopted in Skokie because the amended ordinance trustees endorsed 5-1 on September 8, 2026 is absent from the Village Board's September 22, 2026 agenda and still awaits a second reading. Hosts therefore stay under the pilot rules in force since May 1, 2026 that charge roughly $3,650 a year and require five-night stays with an 18-booking annual cap.

Corporation Counsel was directed to draft the rewrite after staff reported three licensed rentals against 54 noncompliant properties left from an initial 129 following 63 violation notices and five tickets. Trustee Gail Schechter cast the only no vote while the board added a review of the program data by advisory boards before final passage and investor-owned rentals stay under the original rules since none registered.

BAYONNE, NJ

Residents of West 42nd Street brought complaints about a noisy party house and a spread of short-term rentals to City Council where officials pointed to new rules meant to curb the problem even as neighbors said the disturbances have continued. The exchange lands in a city that already requires an STRP license before a unit can be listed and limits rentals to 60 days per calendar year.

Owners must live in the rental or in the principal residence on the same lot, a license follows within 30 days of a passed inspection, and the zoning compliance certificate costs $50 which puts Bayonne between neighboring Kearny and Weehawken where short-term rentals are banned outright, and North Bergen which restricts them to owner-occupied homes.

FRESNO COUNTY, CA

Deed thieves are moving from vacant land to vacation homes and rentals so Fresno County's answer is a Real Property Fraud Prevention Notice created under an ordinance that takes effect October 8, 2026 that any owner can file. The notice asks title companies and notaries to verify identity before a transaction on that property closes which Assessor-Recorder Paul Dictos said stops fraud before a deed is recorded rather than after.

Realtor.com puts vacant land at about 82% of cases yet the FBI counted more than $275 million stolen from at least 12,368 victims nationwide last year. Locally, District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp reported 74 active investigations along with 33 new cases in fiscal year 2025-2026.

SUMMERVILLE, SC

Nearly two years of conflict on South Magnolia Street ended when Town Council approved the Magnolia Historic Southern Inn rezoning 5-2 on September 17, 2026, moving the short-term rental at 115 S. Magnolia St. from general residential to neighborhood mixed-use so its owners can expand while the owner-occupancy requirements of the Unified Development Ordinance still apply. Councilmen Bob Jackson and Richard Waring IV held to their earlier opposition and voted no.

Owners Justin and Megan Dungan had withdrawn a first request in early 2025 and lost a downtown mixed-use bid earlier in 2026 before this third attempt survived a second Planning Commission denial recommendation and an August 24, 2026 workshop that shelved an overlay district idea. Neighbor Jim Healey argued the property is no bed and breakfast with no breakfast and no innkeeper while Megan Dungan said the dispute had become more about neighbors than about the town's growth.

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In case you missed it:

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.

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Short-Term Rentals: Daily Notes | September 16, 2026

Cities address STRs. Chincoteague, VA sets two-night minimum; Folly Beach, SC revives cap without fee; Kalispell, MT rejects ward-by-ward caps; Opelika, AL weighs 1.5% license tax; Geneva, NY closes three-unit exemption; Kauai County, HI. READ MORE.

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Short-Term Rentals: Daily Notes | September 15, 2026

Cities address STRs. Montgomery County, MD license checks; Cayce, SC bars under-21 guests; Mesquite, NV staff approvals; Annapolis, MD fine ceiling raised; Indian Wells, CA tennis exception; Clark County, NV; Manatee County, FL; Nantucket, MA; Grand Haven, MI; Killeen, TX 8% compliance. READ MORE.

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