Hoboken's short-term rental ordinance: 60 nights a year, one permit per owner, no tenants or rent-controlled units, and the 3% hotel tax

HOBOKEN — The short-term rental ordinance going before the Hoboken City Council tonight would cap any short-term rental at 60 nights a year, limit each owner to one permit, bar tenants from renting out their apartments short-term, and make the rentals subject to the city’s 3% hotel and motel occupancy tax, according to the ordinance text in the council’s agenda packet.

The packet includes a resolution adding the ordinance to the Oct. 21 agenda as an “urgent item,” stating that “the regulation of Short Term Rentals within the City of Hoboken is an urgent nature.” The agenda lists Councilman Joe Quintero with the ordinance, and the packet’s vote sheet includes a box for first reading. The proposal comes days after the Oct. 18 police response at a short-term rental on the 500 block of Garden Street, which Hudson TV reported.

Where short-term rentals would be allowed

The ordinance would create a new Chapter 164, the “City of Hoboken Short Term Rental Ordinance.” It defines a short-term rental as a stay of 28 or fewer consecutive days and would allow short-term rentals only in:

• condo, homeowners association or co-op units, where the association’s governing documents allow short-term rentals and the owner’s principal residence is in the association;
• single-family homes; and
• units in owner-occupied two-, three- or four-unit buildings.

Short-term rentals would be barred in any multiple dwelling where rent is “set by HUD, set by a State agency, set by an agreement with the owner/developer, or governed by Chapter 155: Rent Control.” Hotels, rooming houses, senior and student housing, shelters and similar facilities are also excluded.

The key limits

• 60 nights a year: “Any Short-Term Rental cannot be offered for more than sixty (60) total nights per calendar year, including owner-occupied properties.” Each night over the limit counts as a separate violation.
• Owners only: A tenant “may not apply for a short-term rental permit” or sublet short-term, and the rule overrides any lease that allows it.
• One permit: No person or entity may own or have an interest in more than one short-term rental permit.
• Renters over 21: The primary occupant who signs the rental agreement must be over 21 and must actually stay at the property.
• Permit number on every listing: Listings must include the city permit number, each day a non-compliant listing runs counts as a separate violation, and no advertising is allowed before a permit is issued.

Permit requirements

• A $500 non-refundable application fee, a permit valid for one year, and a $500 annual renewal fee. The permit expires automatically when the property changes ownership.
• Proof the unit is the owner’s principal residence, including a driver’s license or state ID and recent gas/electric and water bills.
• At least $500,000 in general liability insurance.
• Fire-safety and property-maintenance inspections, a zoning determination letter, and proof of no outstanding taxes or water and sewer charges, with any municipal court fines paid.
• An owner, agent or “responsible party” reachable 24 hours a day, seven days a week while the unit is rented, responding “within two hours” to complaints.
• An up-to-date log of guests, including names and ages, and written notice to neighbors: in buildings with four or more units, residents of units adjacent to, above or below the rental.

Penalties and taxes

• Fines “up to two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) per violation, but not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) per violation per day,” which can apply to the owner, the guests, the rental agent and the responsible party.
• The city’s community development director could suspend, revoke or deny a permit over unabated property maintenance violations, nuisance convictions or substantiated complaints. Denials can be appealed to the business administrator’s office.
• Section Two amends the city’s 3% hotel and motel occupancy tax (Chapter 177) to cover “a dwelling unit being used as a Short Term Rental.”

The ordinance would take effect 90 days after passage and publication.

One drafting point: Section 164-5 says the owners of a unit offered for short-term rental “shall be limited to a natural person,” while the same section also asks for formation documents “where the owner of the proposed STR is a corporate entity.”

The council meets tonight, Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 94 Washington St. A second reading and public hearing would come at a later meeting.

Hudson TV asks: Is a 60-night cap on short-term rentals right for Hoboken? Reply A: Yes, keep it strict. Reply B: No, it goes too far.
Share your take in the comments.

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