I am interested in how this went? We would have joined but we were away. We rented our place in Greenport no more than 10 times a year for the last 2 years and most were 2 weeks or longer but then we found it too difficult to manage so we decided to go long term and found a year round tenant. We went through the village process to obtain a rental license and thought we were acting in compliance.
Then last week we recieved a letter from Suffolk County in the mail advising that through "public information" they believe we rent under 30 days (30 days??! thats even a more strict definition of "short term" than southold just came out with) & we owe them 3% of all our earnings plus possible fines and other penalties. We are super confused how we had never heard about this law before as we would have passed it on without a problem to renters and also baffled why a county is looking for income this way. We pay taxes on our earnings already on a state and federal level and high real estate taxes to have a home here. They advised even if you rent a single time since 2013 you are considered a motel/hotel/b&b or tourist business and subject to this tax! of course they are targeting airbnb and other online as if they are any different than home owners who rent through ads through the paper...all of which seems like red flags that a strong elected official needs to get in front of.
I don't believe private citizens that rent their home occassionally should be subject to this. particularly if they have a rental license. Does anyone have any experience with this?? we are possibly going to approach a lawyer after briefing our CPA. We can't believe how unfriendly the county is toward private citizens that rent their homes occassionally as they have in this area for 50 years!
