New York short-term rental rules for owners

For short-term rentals, New York is really two states. New York City runs one of the strictest regimes in the country. Everywhere else, from Long Island to Lake Erie, rules come from counties, cities, towns and villages, now framed by a state law signed at the end of 2024. The first question for any owner is simply which of the two New Yorks the property sits in.

New York City and Local Law 18

Local Law 18, enforced since September 5, 2023, requires every short-term host in the five boroughs to register with the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement. Platforms may not process a stay of under 30 days for a listing without a valid registration, and they face penalties if they do. Registration is open only to the person who permanently occupies the unit; rent-regulated and public housing apartments are excluded.

The substance comes from older housing law that Local Law 18 simply enforces:

• an entire apartment or house may not be rented for fewer than 30 days;
• the host must live in the unit during the stay, and guests must have access to the whole unit;
• no more than two guests at a time, children under four not counted.

Investor-style whole-home rentals are therefore not a lawful business in the city. Bills to relax the rules for one- and two-family houses have been filed at the City Council, the latest in April 2026, but none had passed when we checked. For city owners, the lawful route is the furnished stay of 30 days or more.

The 2024 state law

Governor Hochul signed S.885-C/A.4130-C on December 21, 2024, and a chapter amendment followed in February 2025. The law added Article 12-D to the Real Property Law. Its main pieces:

• Sales tax through platforms. Since March 1, 2025, booking platforms collect and remit the 4% state sales tax and the local share on short-term stays.
• County registries. Hosts, or the platform on their behalf, register with the county. A county may opt out by local law or team up with neighbors on a shared registry; a county that opts out receives sales tax but not its occupancy tax from these rentals.
• Minimum safety standards. A registered unit must display an evacuation diagram and emergency numbers, have working fire extinguishers and carry at least $300,000 of third-party liability coverage.
• Local powers preserved. Localities that already had a registry keep it, and any county, city, town or village may adopt stricter rules, bans included.

Platforms also report to the Department of State every quarter on stays, guest counts and taxes collected, giving local governments data they never had before.

Upstate and Long Island: a patchwork

Because nothing in the state law preempts local zoning, the map is uneven:

• Onondaga County (Syracuse) extended its room occupancy tax to short-term rentals and opened a registry on September 2, 2025; platforms cannot take bookings for unregistered listings.
• Buffalo issues a yearly certificate, demands a special use permit for non-owner-occupied rentals and closes some zones.
• Rochester has no dedicated permit yet but is drafting zoning rules that would tighten non-owner-occupied rentals.
• The East End of Long Island: several towns run registries that sharply limit the number of short stays per year, which in practice rules out a professional nightly operation.
• The Adirondacks, Finger Lakes and Hudson Valley mix open towns with caps, permits and owner-occupancy rules, sometimes changing from one village to the next.

Lodging taxes

Short stays owe state and local sales tax, and most counties add a hotel or occupancy tax at their own rate. Platforms now handle the sales tax; the occupancy tax depends on the county and on whether it has joined the registry system. For direct bookings, both remain the owner's job.

Co-ops, condos and insurance

Co-op boards and condominium associations can ban short stays, and many do, particularly downstate. A standard homeowner policy rarely covers commercial short-term use: treat the state's $300,000 minimum as a floor and buy cover written for short-term rentals.

Owner checklist

• Is the property inside New York City? If so, plan around the 30-day rule.
• Does your county run a registry? Register before listing.
• Read the town or village code: zoning, permits, caps, owner occupancy.
• Check co-op or condominium documents.
• Set up sales and occupancy tax filing for direct bookings.
• Install extinguishers, post the evacuation plan and insure properly.

If you own or are buying in Buffalo and Niagara Falls, Rochester or Syracuse, we study every request and tell you honestly whether and how we can help.