2026 -- S 2734 SUBSTITUTE A

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO PROPERTY -- RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT

     Introduced By: Senators Gu, Bissaillon, DiMario, Euer, Burke, Murray, Kallman, and
LaMountain

     Date Introduced: February 27, 2026

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 34-18-20 of the General Laws in Chapter 34-18 entitled "Residential

Landlord and Tenant Act" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     34-18-20. Disclosure.

     (a) A landlord or any person authorized to enter into a rental agreement on his or her behalf

shall disclose to the tenant in writing, at or before the commencement of the tenancy, the name,

address and number of:

     (1) The person authorized to manage the premises; and

     (2) An owner of the premises or a person authorized to act for and on behalf of the owner

for the purpose of service of process and receiving and receipting for notices and demands.

     (b) The information required to be furnished by this section shall be kept current. This

section extends to and is enforceable against any successor landlord, owner, or manager.

     (c) A person who fails to comply with subsection (a) of this section becomes an agent of

each person who is a landlord for:

     (1) Service of process and receiving and receipting for notices and demands; and

     (2) Performing the obligations of the landlord under this chapter and under the rental

agreement and expending or making available for the purpose of all rent collected from the

premises.

     (d) A landlord who becomes delinquent on a mortgage securing real estate upon which the

dwelling unit is located for a period of one hundred twenty (120) days shall notify the tenant that

the property may be subject to foreclosure; and until the foreclosure occurs the tenant must continue

to pay rent to the landlord as provided under the rental agreement.

     (e)(1) For any dwelling unit that constitutes shoreline property as defined in § 5-20.8-1, the

landlord shall provide the tenant, prior to the commencement of the tenancy, with a written

shoreline access disclosure, which shall include the following information:

     "Shoreline Access – Members of the public shall have the right to access shoreline property

as defined in § 5-20.8-1. The public’s rights and privileges of the shore may be exercised, where

shore exists, on wet sand or dry sand or rocky beach, up to ten feet (10') landward of the

recognizable high tide line, subject to the restrictions governed by § 46-23-26 and any general laws

to the contrary";

     The landlord is required to notify the tenant of any public rights-of-way on the real estate

that are known to the landlord. Upon request, the landlord shall provide the tenant with a copy of

any documentation evidencing such rights-of-way or conditions of public access that is in the

landlord’s possession; and

     The tenant is advised to contact the coastal resources management council, the

municipality, or applicable nonprofit organizations to determine whether any public rights-of-way

exist.

     (2) The disclosure required by this subsection may be satisfied by incorporating it into any

written rental agreement or provided in a separate written notice delivered to the tenant in the

manner prescribed for delivery of written notices under this chapter.

     SECTION 2. 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 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 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 short-term rental property listed for rent on the website of any third-party hosting

platform that conducts business in Rhode Island shall be registered with the department of business

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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 that list

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

taxation and/or 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 annually or be subject to fines pursuant to subsection (i)

of this section. Provided further, renewals of registrations pursuant to this section shall become due

for renewal on the anniversary date of the original registration.

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

     (1) 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;

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

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

     (4) The address of the rental property;

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

     (6) Whether the registrant rents or owns; and

     (7) 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) Registration forms and/or any registration materials required by the department shall be

completed prior to a listing by a hosting platform. The registration number shall be valid for the

year during which it is assigned, and if a listed property is not duly registered after the expiration

of the annual registration period, the hosting platform shall remove the property listing from its

website within fourteen (14) days of notification from the department.

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

correspond with and enforce this section and § 42-63.1-14.1 and may charge a registration fee to

property owners 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.

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     (i) Any owner of the property who or that fails to register with the department of business

regulation as prescribed herein and lists the property as a short-term rental on a hosting platform

website shall be subject to a civil fine as follows:

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

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

noncompliance; and

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

     (j) Notwithstanding any other law or provision to the contrary, no person shall list any

residence for short-term rental for tourist or transient use without the property’s current, valid

registration number, and its expiration date, which hosting platforms shall require to be displayed

on the listing advertisement. Any hosting platform that offers short-term rental of residential

property for tourist or transient use without requiring the owner to display the current, valid

registration number of a property, and its expiration date, shall be subject to a civil fine of two

hundred fifty dollars ($250) per day per violation, with each property listing constituting a separate

violation.

     (k) A hosting platform shall provide to the department of business regulation, on a quarterly

basis, an electronic report, in a format determined by the department of business regulation, of the

listings maintained, authorized, facilitated, or advertised by the hosting platform within the state

for the applicable reporting period. The report shall include a breakdown of the municipality where

the listings are located, whether the listing is for a room or a whole unit, the total number of short-

term rentals listed on the platform, the registration number of each short-term rental listed on the

platform, the URL link of each short-term rental listed on the platform, and shall include the number

of nights each unit was reported as occupied during the applicable reporting period.

     (l)(1) For any dwelling unit that constitutes shoreline property as defined in § 5-20.8-1, the

owner shall provide the occupant, prior to the commencement of the short-term rental, with a

shoreline access disclosure, which shall include the following information:

     “Shoreline Access – Members of the public shall have the right to access shoreline property

as defined in § 5-20.8-1. The public’s rights and privileges of the shore may be exercised, where

shore exists, on wet sand or dry sand or rocky beach, up to ten feet (10') landward of the

recognizable high tide line, subject to the restrictions governed by § 46-23-26 and any general laws

to the contrary."

     (2) The disclosure required by subsection (l)(1) of this section may be made by:

     (i) Including the disclosure in the listing on the hosting platform; or

     (ii) Providing the disclosure in writing to the occupant before the commencement of the

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short-term rental.

     (3) If the disclosure is made in the hosting platform listing, the listing shall clearly and

conspicuously display the disclosure before the booking is completed.

     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 PROPERTY -- RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT

***

     This act would require landlords who rent shoreline property to provide their tenants,

before the start of the tenancy, with a detailed, written disclosure regarding public shoreline access

rights.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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