East Hampton Town Board to Possibly Vote on Rental Registry This Week

The East Hampton Town Board will possibly be voting on whether or not to enact the proposed rental registry law this week.

The vote to adopt the amended version of the law proposed this past fall could be taking place on Tuesday, Dec. 15 starting at 10 a.m. during the Town Board work session at Town Hall located on 159 Pantigo Road.

In addition, the Town Board might be voting on a resolution which would set the fees for the registry at $100 for a two-year period, compared to the initial registration fee of $250 and a fee of $125 every two-years to renew originally proposed in an earlier version of the law.

The possible rental registry law, which was proposed by the Town Board over the summer when they began working on proposing laws that will help solve the problems in Montauk that were expressed by angry local residents, including complaints of overcrowding after the hamlet had received a reputation of a “party town” and locals got fed up after the “crazy” Fourth of July weekend.

The proposed law would require homeowners who wish to rent their house either seasonally or year-round, to fill out a two-page form to describe the size and arrangement of their house as well as make sure the home meets basic fire and safety codes every time new tenant moves into the home.

Currently, there is no law on the subject, so the board is hoping implement a rule to require homeowners to register all rentals with the Town by next summer in order to better enforce and prevent over occupation, according to Cantwell.

Since then, local residents have been expressing their opposition, creating online petitions and websites encouraging people to stop the rental registry law.

The law would affect the 15,000 homeowners who rent their homes to visitors, especially over the summer.

“It is widely recognized that a Rental Registry Law will not achieve its legislative intent of addressing overcrowded year-round rentals and unruly seasonal share houses,” a message on StoptheRentalRegistry.com reads. “The Rental Registry Law is misguided in what it can achieve, while providing code enforcement with an end-run around the U.S. Constitution and the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition on unwarranted searches.”

The website also claims that under the law homeowners who rent their homes and violate the law, could face fines up to $15,000.

However, Cantwell previously said that “the purpose of the rental registry is not to stop rentals, people have been renting in East Hampton for years.”