The proposed General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5536 seeks to regulate short-term rentals in the state by establishing a state short-term rental registry and allowing municipalities to impose a supplemental tax on these rentals. Effective October 1, 2026, all short-term rental operators and owners must register their properties annually with the Department of Revenue Services, paying a registration fee of $100 per property. Properties must be registered before they can be listed or advertised, with civil penalties of up to $1,000 for non-compliance. Municipalities can adopt ordinances to exempt licensed short-term rentals from this registration requirement.

Starting January 1, 2027, municipalities will have the authority to impose a supplemental tax on short-term rentals, capped at 2.75% of the total rent for stays not exceeding 30 consecutive days. This tax will be collected alongside existing state taxes and used to fund local housing initiatives. The bill also requires short-term rental facilitators to obtain a permit to collect taxes, maintain records, and disaggregate sales tax information by municipality. It clarifies that short-term rental operators are not liable for tax collection if the facilitator has already collected the necessary taxes. The bill includes new legal language regarding the definitions of key terms and the responsibilities of facilitators, while no deletions from current law are specified.

Statutes affected:
Raised Bill: 12-408h