2021 -- S 0501

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LC000646

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2021

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- TOURISM AND

DEVELOPMENT

     Introduced By: Senators Euer, DiPalma, McCaffrey, Goodwin, and DiMario

     Date Introduced: March 04, 2021

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 42-63.1-14 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-63.1 entitled "Tourism

and Development" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     42-63.1-14. Offering residential units through a hosting platform.

     (a) For any residential unit rental property offered for tourist or transient use on a hosting

platform that collects and remits applicable sales and hotel taxes in compliance with § 44-18-

7.3(b)(4)(i), §§ 44-18-18, and § 44-18-36.1, cities, towns or municipalities shall not prohibit the

owner of such residential unit from offering the unit for tourist or transient use through such hosting

platform, or prohibit such hosting platform from providing a person or entity the means to rent, pay

for or otherwise reserve a residential unit for tourist or transient use. A hosting platform shall

comply with the requirement imposed upon room resellers in § 44-18-7.3(b)(4)(i) and § 44-18-36.1

in order for the prohibition of this section to apply. The division of taxation shall at the request of

a city, town, or municipality confirm whether a hosting platform is registered in compliance with

§ 44-18-7.3(b)(4)(i).

     (b) Any third-party hosting platform that conducts business in Rhode Island and lists any

short-term rental Rhode Island property on their website for rent shall only list those properties that

are registered with the department of business regulation. The registration shall provide the

information necessary to identify the property pursuant to subsection (d) of this section. For

purposes of this section, the term "short-term rental" means a person, firm, or corporation's

utilization, for transient lodging accommodations, not to exceed thirty (30) nights at a time.

     (c) The department of business regulation shall contact all hosting platforms who list

property in Rhode Island on their website for rent and who submit hotel taxes to the division of

taxation and the city of Newport and shall provide notice of the registration requirement, pursuant

to this section, instructing the hosting platforms to notify their listed properties to register with the

department of business regulation by December 31, 2021 or be subject to fines pursuant to § 42-

63.1-14.1.

     (d) The state registration pursuant to this section shall include:

     (1) The name and primary residential address of the owner of the property;

     (2) The principal place of business of the owner, or if outside the state, the agent for service

of process or property manager for the owner;

     (3) The phone number of the owner of the property and/or property manager;

     (4) The email address of the property owner and/or property manager;

     (5) The address of the rental property;

     (6) The number of rooms for rent at the property;

     (7) Whether the registrant rents or owns; and

     (8) Intended use (entire space, private room or shared space).

     (e) The assigned registration number shall consist of numeric and alpha characters, the

alpha characters shall correspond to the city/town where the property is located and shall be uniform

for the remaining properties in said city/town.

     (f) The department of business regulation shall notify all hosting platforms to contact all

listed properties by December 31, 2021, to ensure compliance with this section and if the listed

properties are not duly registered after six (6) months, the hosting platform shall remove the

property listing from its website.

     (g) The department of business regulation shall promulgate rules and regulations to

correspond with this section and may charge a registration fee to third-party hosting platforms

registering with the department pursuant to this section.

     (h) The department of business regulation shall create an online database to store all

registered short-term rental units, and each unit shall have an online identification number in said

database to correspond with subsection (e) of this section.

     SECTION 2. Chapter 42-63.1 of the General Laws entitled "Tourism and Development" is

hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

     42-63.1-14.1. Properties listed on hosting platform websites.

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     (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of § 42-63.1-14(a), a hosting platform shall not conduct

business with a short-term rental unit if that unit has not registered with the department of business

regulation. Any future property that is added to the hosting platform website for rent must first be

registered with the department of business regulation before it appears on any website for rent.

     (b) If a hosting platform lists an unregistered unit on its hosting platform website a fine to

each unregistered property as follows:

     (1) Two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for the first thirty (30) days of non-compliance;

     (2) Five hundred dollars ($500) for between thirty-one (31) and sixty (60) days of non-

compliance; and

     (3) One thousand dollars ($1,000) for more than sixty (60) days of non-compliance.

     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- TOURISM AND

DEVELOPMENT

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     This act would require a third-party hosting platform to register each short-term rental unit

listed for rent in the state with the department of business regulation. If a short-term rental is not

registered a third-party hosting platform would not be able to conduct business in the state using

such property(s). If a hosting platform lists an unregistered unit a fine would be imposed.

Additionally, this act would require the department of business regulation to create a database to

store all registered short-term rental units.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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