If you own a home you’re thinking of renting on Airbnb or VRBO — or you’re buying one with that plan in mind — New York is one of the trickiest states in the country to navigate. Here’s the full picture, broken down by where you actually live.
New York doesn’t have one short-term rental law. It has dozens. Layered on top of each other.
There’s a state framework, a separate New York City regime, a new statewide registry counties can opt into, town-level bans in some places, permit programs in others, and tax rules that just changed in 2025. Get one piece wrong and you’re looking at fines that can run from a few hundred dollars to $7,500 per advertisement. Some Rockland County towns will fine you $15,000 on a third offense.
This guide cuts through it. I’ll walk you through the statewide rules first, then go county by county — with the heaviest detail on the markets I work in every day: Rockland, Westchester, Putnam, Orange, and the five boroughs of NYC.
Before we get to the county breakdowns, you need to understand the structure. Every short-term rental in New York is governed by two stacked layers of law:
The state sets a baseline. Most importantly, the Multiple Dwelling Law (MDL) says that a Class A residential unit — which covers the vast majority of apartments and homes — cannot be rented for fewer than 30 consecutive days unless the permanent resident is physically present and sharing the space as a “common household.” That rule applies everywhere in New York State, not just NYC.
Layered on top, a 2024–2025 set of laws (Article 12-D of the Real Property Law) created a statewide framework for tax collection and county-level registries.
Below the state, every county, city, town, and village in New York can pass its own short-term rental rules. They can be stricter than the state — they cannot be looser. Some have outright banned short-term rentals. Some require permits, inspections, and insurance. Some have done nothing at all and rely on the state baseline. This is where most of the variability lives, and it’s why “Is Airbnb legal in New York?” has 50 different answers depending on the address.
The MDL is the foundational rule. In Class A multiple dwellings (think most apartment buildings with three or more units), you cannot rent the unit out for under 30 days unless the permanent occupant is present. “Unhosted” entire-apartment short-term rentals are illegal under state law in those buildings.
The MDL also bans illegal advertising — listing a Class A unit for an illegal short stay can trigger civil penalties of up to $7,500 per repeat violation under MDL §121.
Governor Hochul signed S.885C/A.4130C on December 21, 2024, with a follow-up chapter amendment (Chapter 99 of 2025) signed February 28, 2025. Together, those laws created Article 12-D of the Real Property Law. Here’s what it actually does:
The 2025 changes meaningfully simplified life for hosts — but you still need to understand what taxes apply to your rental and who pays them.
| Tax | Rate | Who collects it |
|---|---|---|
| NY State sales tax | 4% | Booking platform (since March 2025) |
| Local (county/city) sales tax | 3–4.875% | Booking platform, in most cases |
| County hotel/motel occupancy tax | 2–6% (varies) | Platform if county has agreement; host otherwise |
| NYC hotel room occupancy tax | 5.875% | Host (where applicable) |
| NYC per-unit-per-day fee | $1.50/day | Host |
| Yonkers city occupancy tax | 3% | Host |
| Westchester County occupancy tax | 3% | Host (verify with county) |
The single biggest pitfall: hosts assume that because the platform handles state sales tax, all the other taxes are taken care of too. They’re not. Always confirm directly with your county and your municipality which taxes you owe and how to file them.
NYC operates under the strictest short-term rental regime in the United States. Local Law 18, adopted January 9, 2022 and fully enforced since September 5, 2023, applies equally to all five boroughs — Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island.
To legally rent a unit in NYC for fewer than 30 days, every single one of these has to be true:
Booking platforms (Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com) cannot process a sub-30-night reservation in NYC unless the unit is verified in OSE’s system. That’s the enforcement mechanism that has the teeth.
Same rules. Local Law 18 makes no distinction between the boroughs. A homeowner in Throgs Neck, Riverdale, or Country Club faces identical requirements to a brownstone owner in Brooklyn Heights. Same goes for Tottenville, Great Kills, or Stapleton on Staten Island. If you own a one- or two-family home in the outer boroughs and want to host occasionally, you can do it — but only as a “hosted” stay, registered with OSE, with you physically present.
None of this applies to rentals of 30 days or more. Furnished month-to-month and corporate housing arrangements remain perfectly legal in NYC. Many former Airbnb operators have shifted to mid-term and traveling-professional models for exactly this reason.
Westchester does not have a county-wide short-term rental license. The state Multiple Dwelling Law applies, and the county collects a 3% hotel occupancy tax. Beyond that, regulation happens at the city, town, or village level — and it varies dramatically.
If you’re in Upper Nyack-adjacent areas of Yonkers, the lower Hudson villages, or anywhere in southern Westchester, your safest assumption is that unhosted entire-home rentals under 30 days are illegal or heavily restricted — even if no one’s currently enforcing it on your block. Always check your specific city or town code before listing.
Rockland County is one of the most restrictive STR markets in the lower Hudson Valley. Two of its largest towns — Clarkstown and Orangetown — have effectively banned short-term rentals in residential zones. Other towns have permit programs of varying strictness.
On March 8, 2022, the Clarkstown Town Board passed Local Law No. 1-2022, which prohibits short-term rentals (defined as stays of 29 days or fewer) in all single-family, two-family, and multifamily dwellings in residential zones — and bans short-term rental of swimming pools and outdoor amenities as well. The ban covers Bardonia, Congers, Nanuet, New City, Upper Nyack, Valley Cottage, and West Nyack.
Penalties under the prior permit framework (still useful as a reference for fine size) ranged from $3,500–$5,000 for first-time violations, $7,000–$10,000 for second offenses, and $10,000–$15,000 for third offenses. The town actively monitors listings using satellite imagery and complaint-driven enforcement.
Orangetown amended its code in 2023 to ban the short-term rental of any outdoor spaces, including swimming pools, spas, playgrounds, and yards in residential zones — a direct response to Swimply-style platforms. Orangetown has actively pursued legal action against properties listing outdoor amenities for short-term rent. The town covers Blauvelt, Grandview-on-Hudson, Nyack, Orangeburg, Pearl River, Piermont, Sparkill, South Nyack, and Tappan.
The Town of Ramapo (Airmont, Chestnut Ridge, Hillburn, Hillcrest, Kaser, Monsey, Montebello, New Hempstead, New Square, Sloatsburg, Spring Valley, Suffern, Tallman, Wesley Hills), the Town of Haverstraw, and the Town of Stony Point each have their own zoning rules. Most rely on a combination of the state MDL baseline and town zoning codes that don’t explicitly authorize STRs as a permitted use — which in practice means short-term rentals are restricted or prohibited in residential zones unless specifically permitted.
Putnam County does not yet impose a county-wide short-term rental tax or registry as of mid-2026, though that may change as more counties opt into Article 12-D. Regulation happens at the town and village level, and the rules in Putnam Valley in particular are detailed.
The Town of Putnam Valley adopted a comprehensive STR law in late 2023 that applies to all property owners renting on a short-term transient basis. Key requirements include:
The Village of Cold Spring adopted STR rules in 2021 and Philipstown has its own framework. Both rely heavily on definitions in the local zoning code (terms like “vacation house” and “bungalow” come up). Permit fees and inspection requirements apply.
The southern Putnam towns have generally been more permissive, with regulation handled through standard zoning and the state MDL baseline rather than dedicated STR ordinances. That said, demand from NYC weekenders has put pressure on town boards to consider stricter rules — worth tracking if you operate in this area.
Orange County moved early to opt into the new state registry framework. Local Law Intro No. 7 of 2025 made Orange County a “covered jurisdiction” under Real Property Law Article 12-D, allowing the county to require STR registration and impose its hotel/motel occupancy tax on short-term rental units.
The Hudson Valley is among the most popular STR markets outside NYC, and rules vary widely by town. Dutchess County charges a 4% occupancy tax. Ulster County charges 2% (and is one of the highest-volume STR counties in the state). Greene and Columbia Counties have growing STR economies with town-by-town regulations.
Specific towns worth knowing: Woodstock (permit required, ~$250/year, no primary-residence requirement), Kingston (registration ~$100/year, no primary residency), Rhinebeck (more restrictive, limited residential availability), Hillsdale in Columbia County (special permit + certificate of compliance, local-contact requirement). Sullivan County remains one of the most permissive STR markets in the state, particularly in unincorporated areas around Liberty, Livingston Manor, and Bethel.
The Hamptons run a tiered, strict permit regime. Southampton requires a permit (~$400/year) with strict occupancy limits and rules about unrelated occupants. East Hampton uses a complex tiered registration system. The North Fork is more accessible but still permitted. Nassau County’s individual towns (Hempstead, North Hempstead, Oyster Bay) each have their own rules — some have aggressively fined unregistered hosts.
Saratoga Springs has moved toward banning non-owner-occupied vacation rentals. Albany has been considering legislation but, as of mid-2026, has limited STR-specific code beyond standard zoning. Schenectady, Troy, and surrounding municipalities each handle it differently.
The Finger Lakes region (Watkins Glen, Seneca Lake, Canandaigua, Geneva) is one of the most welcoming STR markets in the state — most counties require simple registration, but not primary residency. Strong wine-tourism demand and reasonable total tax burden in the 12–16% range. Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse handle STRs through standard city zoning with growing local pressure to add formal registration.
Lake George, Lake Placid, and surrounding towns each have their own permit programs, mostly aimed at safety and tax compliance. Lake Placid has been especially active with enforcement. Otherwise, the North Country broadly is one of the lighter-regulation regions in the state.
Properties currently used (or marketed as suitable) for short-term rental need careful handling. A buyer relying on Airbnb income to support a higher offer needs to know exactly what’s allowed at your address — not what someone in the next town over is doing. Misrepresenting STR potential is a fast track to a busted deal or a post-closing lawsuit. Get the truth on the table early; it actually increases buyer trust and protects your sale.
Before you write an offer on a property where STR income is part of the math, do three things:
The honest read on New York for pure-investment STR plays in 2026: the lower Hudson Valley counties (Rockland, Westchester) are mostly closed for unhosted operation. NYC is functionally closed except for resident-hosts. Putnam, Orange, Ulster, Sullivan, Greene, and the Catskills remain workable but increasingly regulated and increasingly taxed. The Finger Lakes and parts of the North Country are the friendliest.
The smart play in my service area, for most investors, is a 30-day-plus furnished rental strategy aimed at corporate, medical, traveling-professional, and relocation tenants. It sidesteps virtually every regulation in this guide while capturing premium rents — especially in markets with hospital systems, university affiliations, or commuter-friendly locations.