East Hampton, NY Airbnb & Short-Term Rental Regulations 2026

Regulation Overview

Flagship Hamptons vacation-rental market with heavy summer demand from NYC; the Town has been actively cracking down on illegal/unregistered rentals, reportedly using AI-assisted enforcement. Distinguish the Town of East Hampton (incl. Montauk, Amagansett) from the separately-regulated incorporated Village of East Hampton.

Caps short-term (<2-week) rentals at 2 per 6-month period per property and bans 'share house' occupancy-splitting arrangements outright — a real frequency cap plus a banned rental model.

New York State Law

State preemption: No state preemption — NY's 2024 law (S.885C/A.4130C, Real Property Law Article 12-D, signed Dec 21, 2024, effective ~Apr 21, 2025) explicitly does not preempt local STR authority; municipalities retain full right to regulate or ban STRs entirely, and existing local registries remain intact.

Statewide rules: Article 12-D lets counties voluntarily opt into establishing a county-level STR registry; no statewide mandatory registry exists. Since March 1, 2025, NYS applies its 4% state sales tax to short-term rental occupancy, with booking platforms (Airbnb, Vrbo, etc.) required to collect and remit it directly (effective March 25, 2025). Statewide, Class A multiple dwellings (3+ unit apartment buildings) cannot be used as unhosted vacation rentals under 30 days per the Multiple Dwelling Law. NYC's Local Law 18 requires host registration with OSE and effectively bans unhosted STRs under 30 days in most buildings, which is why NYC is excluded from this market list.

Taxes: Statewide 4% NYS sales tax on STR occupancy, platform-collected since March 2025, plus applicable county/local bed or occupancy taxes (e.g. Essex County Room Occupancy Tax for Lake Placid; Suffolk County hotel/motel tax for the Hamptons) — local rates vary by county and should be confirmed locally.

2025–2026 legislation: Article 12-D implementation (county opt-in registries, quarterly platform reporting to participating counties) is the main rollout in progress; no statewide mandatory registry as of this research.

East Hampton Rules

Governing jurisdiction: Town of East Hampton (Rental Registry, Town Code Chapter 199); the incorporated Village of East Hampton has its own separate Seasonal Use Dwelling Unit Registry (Chapter 232).

• The Town of East Hampton (distinct from the separately-regulated incorporated Village of East Hampton) requires every rental property, including short-term rentals, to carry a Rental Registry number that must appear in all advertising.
• Registration costs a $100 filing fee and is valid for two years before renewal is required.
• Properties are capped at a maximum of 2 rental terms of less than 2 weeks within any rolling 6-month period — a meaningful limit on true short-term/Airbnb-style turnover.
• 'Share houses' — arrangements splitting occupancy rights among multiple parties or time periods within a single property — are illegal under the town code.
• The town has been ramping up enforcement, reportedly using AI tools to flag unregistered listings, with local reporting finding roughly half of active rental listings unlicensed.
• Violations carry town-code prosecution exposure with press materials citing potential fines that can exceed $200,000 in aggregated/repeat-offense cases — verify the actual per-violation fine schedule before assuming typical exposure.
• Investors should confirm which jurisdiction actually governs a specific parcel: the Town of East Hampton's Chapter 199 registry and the separately incorporated Village of East Hampton's Chapter 232 registry are not the same regime.

Not confirmed

We could not verify the following against a primary source. Confirm each with the jurisdiction before you rely on it:

• Specific numeric occupancy-limit formula (bedrooms-to-guests ratio)
• Exact minimum-stay length, if any beyond the frequency cap
• Whether registration transfers on sale of the property
• Typical (non-aggregated) penalty amount for a first violation
• Suffolk County hotel/motel occupancy tax rate applicable to East Hampton STRs

Buyer Due Diligence Checklist

Before you write an offer on a short-term rental here:

• Get a written determination from the governing jurisdiction for the specific parcel. Verbal guidance from anyone else is not diligence.
• Establish which jurisdiction governs — city, town, village and unincorporated county can differ sharply within a few miles.
• Ask whether an existing permit transfers on sale. In many markets it does not, and a listing marketed as a running short-term rental may convey nothing of the sort.
• Read the HOA or condo covenants during your inspection period. Private covenants bind even where the jurisdiction permits the use.
• Model revenue against the legal occupancy cap, not the bedroom count.

Frequently Asked Questions