2024 -- S 2410 | |
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LC004304 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2024 | |
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A N A C T | |
RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- TOURISM AND | |
DEVELOPMENT | |
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Introduced By: Senators LaMountain, Burke, and Bissaillon | |
Date Introduced: February 12, 2024 | |
Referred To: Senate Housing & Municipal Government | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Sections 42-63.1-2 and 42-63.1-14 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-63.1 |
2 | entitled "Tourism and Development" are hereby amended to read as follows: |
3 | 42-63.1-2. Definitions. |
4 | For the purposes of this chapter: |
5 | (1) “Consideration” means the monetary charge for the use of space devoted to transient |
6 | lodging accommodations. |
7 | (2) “Corporation” means the Rhode Island commerce corporation. |
8 | (3) “District” means the regional tourism districts set forth in § 42-63.1-5. |
9 | (4) “Hotel” means any facility offering a minimum of one (1) room for which the public |
10 | may, for a consideration, obtain transient lodging accommodations. The term “hotel” shall include |
11 | hotels, motels, tourist homes, tourist camps, lodging houses, and inns. The term “hotel” shall also |
12 | include houses, condominiums or other residential dwelling units, regardless of the number of |
13 | rooms, which are used and/or advertised for rent for occupancy. The term “hotel” shall not include |
14 | schools, hospitals, sanitariums, nursing homes, and chronic care centers. |
15 | (5) “Hosting platform” means any electronic or operating system in which a person or |
16 | entity provides a means through which an owner may offer a residential unit for “tourist or |
17 | transient” use. This service is usually, though not necessarily, provided through an online or web- |
18 | based system which generally allows an owner to advertise the residential unit through a hosted |
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1 | website and provides a means for a person or entity to arrange, or otherwise facilitate reservations |
2 | for, tourist or transient use in exchange for payment, whether the person or entity pays rent directly |
3 | to the owner or to the hosting platform. All hosting platforms are required to collect and remit the |
4 | tax owed under this section. |
5 | (6) “Occupancy” means a person, firm or corporation’s use of space for transient lodging |
6 | accommodations not to exceed thirty (30) days. Excluded from “occupancy” is the use of space for |
7 | which the occupant has a written lease for the space, which lease covers a rental period of twelve |
8 | (12) months or more. Furthermore, any house, condominium or other residential dwelling rented, |
9 | for which the occupant has a documented arrangement for the space covering a rental period of |
10 | more than thirty (30) consecutive days or for one calendar month is excluded from the definition |
11 | of occupancy. |
12 | (7) “Tax” means the hotel tax imposed by § 44-18-36.1(a). |
13 | (8) “Owner” means any person who owns real property and is the owner of record. Owner |
14 | shall also include a lessee where the lessee is offering a residential unit for “tourist or transient” |
15 | use. |
16 | (9) “Residential unit” means a room or rooms, including a condominium or a room or a |
17 | dwelling unit that forms part of a single, joint or shared tenant arrangement, in any building, or |
18 | portion thereof, which is designed, built, rented, leased, let, or hired out to be occupied for non- |
19 | commercial use. |
20 | (10) “Tour operator” means a person that derives a majority of his or her or its revenue by |
21 | providing tour operator packages. |
22 | (11) “Tour operator packages” means travel packages that include the services of a tour |
23 | guide and where the itinerary encompasses five (5) or more consecutive days. |
24 | (12) “Tourist or transient” means any use of a residential unit for occupancy for less than |
25 | a thirty (30) consecutive day term of tenancy, or occupancy for less than thirty (30) consecutive |
26 | days of a residential unit leased or owned by a business entity, whether on a short-term or long- |
27 | terms basis, including any occupancy by employee or guests of a business entity for less than thirty |
28 | (30) consecutive days where payment for the residential unit is contracted for or paid by the |
29 | business entity. |
30 | 42-63.1-14. Offering residential units through a hosting platform. |
31 | (a) For any rental property offered for tourist or transient use on a hosting platform that |
32 | collects and remits applicable sales and hotel taxes in compliance with §§ 44-18-7.3(b)(4)(i), 44- |
33 | 18-18, and 44-18-36.1, cities, towns, or municipalities shall not prohibit the owner from offering |
34 | the unit for tourist or transient use through such hosting platform, or prohibit such hosting platform |
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1 | from providing a person or entity the means to rent, pay for, or otherwise reserve a residential unit |
2 | for tourist or transient use. A hosting platform shall comply with the requirement imposed upon |
3 | room resellers in §§ 44-18-7.3(b)(4)(i) and 44-18-36.1 in order for the prohibition of this section to |
4 | apply. The division of taxation shall at the request of a city, town, or municipality confirm whether |
5 | a hosting platform is registered in compliance with § 44-18-7.3(b)(4)(i). |
6 | (b) Any short-term rental property listed for rent on the website of any third-party hosting |
7 | platform that conducts business in Rhode Island shall be registered with the department of business |
8 | regulation. The registration shall provide the information necessary to identify the property |
9 | pursuant to subsection (d) of this section. For purposes of this section, the term “short-term rental” |
10 | means a person, firm, or corporation’s utilization, for transient lodging accommodations, not to |
11 | exceed thirty (30) nights at a time. |
12 | (c) The department of business regulation shall contact all hosting platforms that list |
13 | property in Rhode Island on their website for rent and that submit hotel taxes to the division of |
14 | taxation and shall provide notice of the registration requirement, pursuant to this section, instructing |
15 | the hosting platforms to notify their listed properties to register with the department of business |
16 | regulation annually by December 31, 2021, or be subject to fines pursuant to § 42-63.1-14.1. |
17 | (d) The state registration pursuant to this section shall include: |
18 | (1) The principal place of business of the owner, or if outside the state, the agent for service |
19 | of process or property manager for the owner; |
20 | (2) The phone number of the owner of the property and/or property manager; |
21 | (3) The email address of the property owner and/or property manager; |
22 | (4) The address of the rental property; |
23 | (5) The number of rooms for rent at the property; |
24 | (6) Whether the registrant rents or owns; and |
25 | (7) Intended use (entire space, private room, or shared space). |
26 | (e) The assigned registration number shall consist of numeric and alpha characters, the |
27 | alpha characters shall correspond to the city/town where the property is located and shall be uniform |
28 | for the remaining properties in said city/town. |
29 | (f) The department of business regulation shall notify all hosting platforms to contact all |
30 | listed properties by December 31, 2021, to ensure compliance with this section The registration |
31 | number shall be valid for the calendar year during which it is assigned, and if the a listed properties |
32 | are property is not duly registered after six (6) months the expiration of the annual registration |
33 | period, the hosting platform shall remove the property listing from its website. |
34 | (g) The department of business regulation shall promulgate rules and regulations to |
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1 | correspond with and enforce this section and § 42-63.1-14.1 and may charge a registration fee to |
2 | property owners registering with the department pursuant to this section. |
3 | (h) The department of business regulation shall create an online database to store all |
4 | registered short-term rental units, and each unit shall have an online identification number in said |
5 | database to correspond with subsection (e) of this section. |
6 | (i) Any owner of the property who or that fails to register with the department of business |
7 | regulation as prescribed herein and lists the property as a short-term rental on a hosting platform |
8 | website shall be subject to a civil fine as follows: |
9 | (1) Two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for the first thirty (30) days of non-compliance; |
10 | (2) Five hundred dollars ($500) for between thirty-one (31) and sixty (60) days of non- |
11 | compliance; and |
12 | (3) One thousand dollars ($1,000) for more than sixty (60) days of non-compliance. |
13 | (j) Notwithstanding any other law or provision to the contrary, no hosting platform shall |
14 | list any residence for short-term rental for tourist or transient use without the property’s current, |
15 | valid registration number, and its expiration date, which shall be displayed on the listing. Any |
16 | hosting platform that offers short-term rental of residential property for tourist or transient use |
17 | without displaying the current, valid registration number of a property, and its expiration date, shall |
18 | be subject to a civil fine of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) per day per violation, with each property |
19 | listing constituting a separate violation. |
20 | (k) A hosting platform shall provide to the department of business regulation, on a monthly |
21 | basis, an electronic report, in a format determined by the department of business regulation, of the |
22 | listings maintained, authorized, facilitated or advertised by the hosting platform within the state for |
23 | the applicable reporting period. The report shall include a breakdown of where the listings are |
24 | located, whether the listing is for a room or a whole unit, and shall include the number of nights |
25 | each unit was reported as occupied during the applicable reporting period. |
26 | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2025. |
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LC004304 | |
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EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- TOURISM AND | |
DEVELOPMENT | |
*** | |
1 | This act would require hosting platforms offering short-term rental of residential property |
2 | for tourist or transient use to disclose on listings the current, valid registration number and its |
3 | expiration date. |
4 | This act would take effect on January 1, 2025. |
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LC004304 | |
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