Short-Term Rentals A Problem In Barnegat, Residents Say

BARNEGAT, NJ — Barnegat residents say that short-term rentals in town are a growing problem, even though such rentals are against town code.

Two residents of Bay Shore Drive voiced their complaints at a recent Township Committee meeting. Barnegat Township code strictly prohibits rentals of 30 days or less.

Resident Jane Pan said that her neighbor has been doing short-term rentals for the past year. She asked what steps should be taken, as she has been emailing and calling the township's zoning officer for months and has not gotten a response back.

Mayor Alfonso Cirulli told Pan to CC him on the emails and he would make sure the issue would be followed up.

Pan also added that when the next door house was being sold, she called the realtor to let them know short-term rentals were not allowed. She said she was told "well, they're not getting fined enough."

Another Bay Shore Drive resident, Andrew Wallack, shared similar complaints about a different neighbor. He said his neighbor has been renting out for the past almost two years. Every two or three days, there's someone new at the house, he said.

Wallack said that he called and complained, but the neighbor then "started trouble" with him.

He said that he's had drunk vacationers come up to his house on a Saturday night, visiting the wrong house, or ringing his doorbell to ask for a ride to LBI as they couldn't get an Uber.

"It seems to me that the problem is growing, not shrinking," Wallack said.

"It's not being enforced enough," Pan said.

Cirulli assured the residents that "we'll take care of this."