Almost every municipality in this region has either regulated short-term rental properties or is debating whether to regulate them. Barrington, East Providence and Portsmouth all have rules on the books. Little Compton and Tiverton both held contentious public hearings this fall. Bristol and Warren have talked about the issue without formalizing any proposals yet.

In most cases, debates over what to do with these properties hinge on emotional anecdotes. Neighbors of the classic summer party house complain about disruptions to quality of life, while property owners plead for the freedom to support themselves and their families without more government interference.

Absent has been clear data on the scale of the issues and the size of the industry locally, but that is coming into sharper focus this month. Owners have a little more than a week remaining to register their properties with the State of Rhode Island’s Department of Business Regulation, which two months ago unveiled its new public registry for short-term rentals.

The registry (available at dbr.ri.gov) is mandatory, per a 2021 Rhode Island law, for property owners who rent “short-term” stays, defined as 30 days or less. Owners have until the end of 2022 to register their properties or begin accumulating fines up to $1,000. The registration fee is $50.

In addition to registering the address of their short-term rental, the owner must identify themselves, their property manager if they live outside the state, and report the number of rooms they are renting, and their intended use of the property (entire space, private room or shared space).

So far, hundreds of property owners have complied and registered their properties. At last check before press time, Bristol had 68 short-term rentals, Portsmouth had 57, Tiverton had 31, Warren had 22 and Barrington had just 14. Consider those the “bay” communities. With long coastlines fronting Narragansett Bay or Mt. Hope Bay, they draw a few visitors for short-term stays, but not like the ocean communities.

The coastal surge

According to the growing data set on the state website, towns overlooking the Atlantic Ocean have more short-term rental properties in total, and a far denser concentration of those properties relative to their total housing stock.

Sparsely populated Little Compton had 71 registered properties at press time, representing about 3 percent of the town’s 2,400 homes.

Middletown had 301 registered short-term rentals, or about 4 percent of the town’s 7,800 homes.

View the state registry of short-term rental properties here.

Considering it is a tourism and wedding hub, Newport had a relatively low number of registered properties, just 203, but there is an explanation. The local government passed a somewhat restrictive set of regulations requiring that, among other things, owners of properties within residential zones must live in the properties they rent. That law is currently being challenged, but for the time being it has most likely tamped down the number of short-term rentals in the City by the Sea.

Massachusetts has its own public registry for short-term rentals and Westport, Mass. – another of those ocean-facing communities — has 147 registered properties, or about 2 percent of its 7,500 homes.

Setting their own rules

In the towns debating their own regulations, arguments have a familiar tone. At a public hearing this fall, Little Compton resident John Garrison told his town council, “This is a huge problem for us, as we never know who will be living across the laneway from us on any given week. And sadly for us, many short-term renters view their time in Little Compton as ‘party time,’ inviting friends to share in the fun and having loud parties into the night … It’s like having a hotel across the laneway – but a hotel with no security or controls over their guests. This type of thing should not be allowed in a small neighborhood.”

Similar complaints were lodged in Portsmouth and Barrington before those towns passed their own regulations. The local codes vary slightly town to town, but they have a familiar pattern. Towns require that either the owner or a registered agent be available and able to respond in a reasonable timeframe while the property is being rented. They also set rules regarding occupancy and off-street parking.

Barrington, for example, passed new regulations earlier this year. It set the maximum occupancy at two guests per bedroom, and it required one off-street parking space for every two potential guests advertised in the rental listing.

Tiverton has drafted, but not yet approved, a relatively strict set of regulations for its 33 registered properties. As currently written, its regulations would require owners to occupy the dwelling, or reside on the same lot as the structure, for at least half the year, or be a resident of Tiverton who resides within a three-mile radius of the the property and has owned the property for at least three years.

Tiverton also may require a local registration fee of $1,000 per dwelling unit, as well as the designation of a “local representative,” which is an individual who lives, or a property management company that operates, within 25 miles of the short-term rental property.

The debates continue

Another town still debating the issue is Warren, where there are just 22 registered short-term rental properties, but also a short list of complaints. Neighbors to rental properties, particularly in the congested, narrow streets of downtown Warren, have gotten the ears of sympathetic Town Council members.

During a public meeting earlier this year, Warren councilors considered mandating that rental property owners must either live in Warren or live in close proximity. They fear the impact of long-distance real estate investors acting as absentee property managers.

“If you want to get into the business of running a hotel, then build a hotel,” said Council President John Hanley. “My feeling would be that I insist you are the owner occupant, otherwise you do not get a registration for a short-term rental. That’s how I feel about it, and that comes from experience and just knowing how bad this can go.”

The council’s vice president, Steve Calenda, had a different view of it. He said during the same hearing: “I think we’re projecting and forecasting something bad happening before it’s happened. I think we should allow them, whether they want to be owner-occupied or in the geographic area, that’s fine. Or you can have someone to be your representative, that’s fine too. But if you fail to be compliant, then we revoke your license. I just think being restrictive right off the rip, saying you either have to be owner-occupied or be within five or 10 miles, I’m struggling with that one.”

As these towns continue to consider the rules for short-term rentals, or not, the state registry provides insights into which neighbors are renting their homes — or perhaps which ones are renting but not registering. To search the Rhode Island registry, register a property, or review the state laws about short-term rentals, click here.

* Household data is drawn from U.S. Census. Short-term rental data is taken from new Rhode Island Registry, as shown through Dec. 19. Property owners have until Dec. 31 to register their properties.