County-Wide Short-Term Rental Registry Coming to Saratoga.

Planning on renting out your home as an Airbnb or VRBO in Saratoga County coming up? Well, you’ll have to register with the county before you do. 

A new law was passed by the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors on April 21 establishing a new county-wide short-term rental registry. The law was enacted due to a statewide mandate requiring such registries which counties had the option of opting out of. 

Under the law, booking services are required to collect data on all short-term rentals in the county such as dates of stay, number of guests, costs, address, and registration number. Hosts meanwhile are required to comply with state law, self-certify that they complied with state law, and allow the county to inspect units to ensure compliance. It also allows the county to collect occupancy and sales tax on behalf of municipalities.

As for registration itself, all short-term rentals would be required to register online with the Treasurer’s Office prior to listing the rental. The registration would last for two years before renewal. 

While the law allows municipalities with existing short term rental registries like Saratoga Springs to continue to use those registries, it preempts the establishment of registries in new municipalities. 

While counties had the option of opting out of the legislation, Board of Supervisors Chairman Phil Barrett said they went with a countywide approach in order to benefit the municipalities. 

“The county has used economies of scale and shared assets to benefit all the municipalities,” Barrett said. “It saves the county money, and it saves the municipalities money.” 

Saratoga Springs Mayor John Safford also welcomed the move, saying that the counties’ registry will have a huge impact in terms of sales and occupancy tax.