In Plymouth, according to state records there are close to 300 short term rentals in town, but town registration forms returned to the Board of Health show there are about 20.
Bobbi Clark has more.
Director of Public Health Karen Keane explains that the registration form was not sent out:
“We actually asked folks to fill it out—it was on our website. We received close to 20, which is not a very large amount.”
Keane realized in looking at the state’s list of the town’s short term rental properties that a number of the owners live out of state.
“So it would make sense that they did not know what the local Board of Health was doing here in Plymouth.”
Identification of the owners of short-term rentals is important because the Dept of Public Health is getting complaints about lack of trash pick-up, parking violations and noise:
“and we have found that we couldn’t reach the person who owns them because they live out of state. So with the short-term rental registration, we will ask the out-of-state homeowner to name a local person that we can get in contact with should there be any problem with the property.”
The Board of Health is working on a by-law to bring to fall town meeting which will include a license fee to operate a short term rental property:
“The by-law is necessary because we want to have a permitting fee—a permit issued for the short-term rental property. Without a bylaw the Town of Plymouth cannot assess a fee for permitting for short-term rentals.”
