What Investors Must Know About the Rules & Help Available
by Tyler Craddock
Short-term rentals have changed how people travel, and they have opened a new lane for real estate investors. A vacation home, a downtown condo, or even a spare bedroom can generate income on a nightly or weekly basis through online booking platforms. That opportunity has drawn growing interest from investors of every size along with the attention of state and local governments, many of which are writing new short-term rental rules at
a fast pace.
As Chief Advocacy Officer for the National Association of Rental Property Managers (NARPM®), I track these rules on behalf of our members, the professional managers who run short-term rentals for thousands of owners nationwide. Here is what investors should know about where things stand, and how NARPM is working to protect investor interests.
A Patchwork That Keeps Shifting
Short-term rental rules are mostly written at the state and local level, so they can look very different from one city to the next and even within the same state. Some states are moving to limit how far local governments can go.
Idaho, for example, recently passed a law requiring short-term rentals to be treated like other residential properties, barring cities from passing rules that single them out. Other states are headed the opposite direction, with cities adding registration requirements, licensing fees, caps on rental nights, or outright restrictions on where short-term rentals can operate. New York now requires registration for short stays and allows steep fines for unregistered properties, while Florida has debated a statewide registry more than once without success, leaving local governments in charge there.
The bottom line: the rules in your market today may not be the rules you face next year. Anyone buying into the short-term rental space should research local rules carefully and keep watching them.
Where NARPM Stands
NARPM recognizes that local governments have real health, safety, and welfare concerns around short-term rentals, and that some regulation is appropriate. But any rule should start from one principle: protecting the property rights of homeowners. That means we oppose treating short-term rentals differently from other rental housing unless there is a specific, legitimate reason for the difference tied to how the property is actually used.
We support reasonable steps, such as registries that ensure short-term rentals pay the same lodging taxes as hotels and meet the same zoning and safety standards as comparable rental housing, and we believe properties managed by a licensed professional and operating under state laws should not face the same registration burdens as unmanaged listings. Looking ahead, we would like to see more states set clear, consistent rules paired with guardrails that keep individual localities from going too far in either direction.
“Short-Term” Does Not Always Mean the Same Thing
Investors should also keep in mind that the term “short-term rental” covers a lot of ground: a vacation rental booked for a week, a traditional short stay closer to a hotel for someone in town on business, or a medium-term rental, often used for corporate relocations or families displaced by a fire or a remodel that can last weeks or months.
There is no fixed, legal line between “short-term,” “medium-term,” and “long-term” in most places. The exact definition shifts with local market conditions and demand. These shifts can affect which rules apply to your property.
Our Advice: Bring in the Right Help
If you are already in the short-term rental business or thinking about getting in, one of the best moves you can make is to talk to an experienced short-term rental property manager before you buy.
A good manager does far more than respond to guest messages. They can help evaluate a potential acquisition, advise on pricing and marketing strategies to maximize your return, and handle the demanding day-to-day work of running a short-term rental — especially fast, reliable turnovers between guests, which often means coordinating cleaning crews on tight timelines.
Professional managers bring systems that take the operational burden off your plate, giving you a turn-key investment rather than a second job.
