BILL AS INTRODUCED H.449
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1 H.449
2 Introduced by Representatives Buss of Woodstock, Pajala of Londonderry,
3 Austin of Colchester, Bongartz of Manchester, Cina of
4 Burlington, Farlice-Rubio of Barnet, Goldman of Rockingham,
5 Graning of Jericho, Hooper of Burlington, Lalley of Shelburne,
6 LaMont of Morristown, Minier of South Burlington, Stone of
7 Burlington, and White of Bethel
8 Referred to Committee on
9 Date:
10 Subject: Housing
11 Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to create a
12 registration requirement and registry for short-term rental housing in this State.
13 An act relating to creating a short-term rental housing registry
14 It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
15 Sec. 1. 3 V.S.A. § 2478 is added to read:
16 § 2478. SHORT-TERM RENTAL HOUSING REGISTRY
17 (a) The Department of Housing and Community Development, in
18 coordination with the Division of Fire Safety, the Department of Health, the
19 Enhanced 911 Board, and the Department of Taxes, shall create and maintain a VT LEG #367526 v.2
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1 registry of the housing in this State that qualifies as a “short-term rental” as
2 defined in 18 V.S.A. § 4301.
3 (b) The Department of Housing and Community Development shall require
4 for each unit that is registered the following data:
5 (1) the name of the owner or landlord;
6 (2) the phone number, electronic mail, and mailing address of the
7 landlord, as available;
8 (3) the location of the unit;
9 (4) the year built;
10 (5) the type of rental unit;
11 (6) the number of units in the building;
12 (7) the school property account number;
13 (8) the accessibility of the unit; and
14 (9) any other information the Department deems appropriate.
15 (c) Upon request of the Department of Housing and Community
16 Development, and at least annually, a municipal, district, or other local
17 government entity that operates a rental housing health and safety program that
18 requires registration of a rental housing unit and a fee for inclusion on the
19 registry shall provide to the Department the data for each unit that is required
20 pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.
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1 (d) The registry, and data collected by the registry, shall be protected
2 pursuant to 1 V.S.A. § 317(c)(2) and may only be released to specifically
3 designated persons who, in the discretion of the Department, shall use such
4 data to further the public good. Registry data may not be disclosed to entities
5 for the purposes of solicitation campaigns without express authority granted by
6 the Department. Data about a specific unit may be disclosed to the owner or
7 operator of the rental unit regulated by the registry for the purpose of
8 informing the owner or operator of its registry status.
9 Sec. 2. 3 V.S.A. § 2479 is added to read:
10 § 2479. SHORT-TERM RENTAL HOUSING; REGISTRATION
11 (a)(1) An owner of a short-term rental, as defined in 18 V.S.A. § 4301,
12 shall, annually, within 30 days after renting a unit, register with and pay to the
13 Department of Housing and Community Development an annual registration
14 fee of $135.00 per rental unit.
15 (2) Notwithstanding subdivision (1) of this subsection, and an owner is
16 not required to pay a registration fee to the Department if the owner has
17 registered the unit and paid a registration fee to a municipality that maintains a
18 comparable registry of short-term rentals.
19 (b)(1) An owner who fails to register pursuant to this section shall pay a
20 late registration fee of $150.00 per day, not to exceed $5,000.00 for each
21 violation.
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1 (2) If an owner who fails to register pursuant to this section and reaches
2 the maximum registration late fee of $5,000.00, the Department shall issue an
3 administrative order directing the owner to cease offering the unit for rent until
4 the fees are paid.
5 (c) The Department shall maintain the registration fees collected pursuant
6 to this section in a special fund entitled the Short-Term Rental Housing Special
7 Fund, the proceeds of which the Department shall use to hire authorized staff
8 to administer the registry and registration requirements imposed in this section
9 and in section 2478 of this title.
10 Sec. 3. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY
11 DEVELOPMENT; POSITIONS
12 (a) The Department of Housing and Community Development is
13 authorized to create one full-time classified position to administer and enforce
14 the registry requirements created in 3 V.S.A. § 2478.
15 (b) In fiscal year 2024, the amount of $200,000.00 is appropriated from the
16 General Fund to the Department of Housing and Community Development as
17 one-time startup funding to hire the position authorized pursuant to subsection
18 (a) of this section.
19 Sec. 4. EFFECTIVE DATES
20 (a) This section, Sec. 1 (registry), and Sec. 3 of this act (DHCD position)
21 shall take effect on July 1, 2023.
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1 (b) Sec. 3 of this act (rental housing registration) shall take effect on
2 January 1, 2024.
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