2025 -- S 0851
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LC002425
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S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025
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A N A C T
RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- TOURISM AND
DEVELOPMENT
Introduced By: Senator Hanna M. Gallo
Date Introduced: March 19, 2025
Referred To: Senate Housing & Municipal Government
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 1
and Development" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2
42-63.1-14. Offering residential units through a hosting platform. [Effective January 3
30, 2025.] 4
(a) For any rental property offered for tourist or transient use on a hosting platform or by 5
any other means that collects and remits applicable sales and hotel taxes in compliance with §§ 44-6
18-7.3(b)(4)(i), 44-18-18, and 44-18-36.1, cities, towns, or municipalities shall not prohibit the 7
owner through licensing, permitting, zoning, ordinance, rule or regulation from offering or renting 8
the unit for tourist or transient use through such hosting platform, or prohibit such hosting platform 9
from providing a person or entity the means to rent, pay for, or otherwise reserve a residential unit 10
for tourist or transient use or any other method, nor prohibit or ban any hosting platform or owner 11
from providing a person or entity the means to rent, pay, or otherwise reserve a residential unit for 12
tourist or transient use. A city, town or municipality shall not require an owner, through licensing, 13
permitting, ordinance, decision, rule or regulation, to occupy any rental property, nor require a 14
minimum or maximum stay. Any licensing, permitting, ordinance, decision, rule or regulation, that 15
directly or indirectly prohibits or bans an owner of a residential unit from renting the residential 16
unit for tourists or transient use, is null and void and preempted and it is the legislative intent of 17
this statute to occupy the field regarding residential units for tourist or transient use as tourism is 18
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vital to the statewide economy and is a statewide concern. This provision is applicable, both 1
retroactively and prospectively, to any license, permit, ordinance, decision, rule or regulation, that 2
directly or indirectly prohibits or bans an owner of a residential unit from renting the residential 3
unit for tourist or transient use. A hosting platform shall comply with the requirement imposed 4
upon room resellers in §§ 44-18-7.3(b)(4)(i) and 44-18-36.1 in order for the prohibition of this 5
section to apply. The division of taxation shall at the request of a city, town, or municipality confirm 6
whether a hosting platform is registered in compliance with § 44-18-7.3(b)(4)(i). 7
(b) Any short-term rental property listed for rent on the website of any third-party hosting 8
platform that conducts business in Rhode Island shall be registered with the department of business 9
regulation. The registration shall provide the information necessary to identify the property 10
pursuant to subsection (d) of this section. For purposes of this section, the term “short-term rental” 11
means a person, firm, or corporation’s utilization, for transient lodging accommodations, not to 12
exceed thirty (30) nights at a time. 13
(c) The department of business regulation shall contact all hosting platforms that list 14
property in Rhode Island on their website for rent and that submit hotel taxes to the division of 15
taxation and/or the city of Newport and shall provide notice of the registration requirement, 16
pursuant to this section, instructing the hosting platforms to notify their listed properties to register 17
with the department of business regulation annually or be subject to fines pursuant to subsection (i) 18
of this section. Provided further, renewals of registrations pursuant to this section shall become due 19
for renewal on the anniversary date of the original registration. 20
(d) The state registration pursuant to this section shall include: 21
(1) The principal place of business of the owner, or if outside the state, the agent for service 22
of process or property manager for the owner; 23
(2) The phone number of the owner of the property and/or property manager; 24
(3) The email address of the property owner and/or property manager; 25
(4) The address of the rental property; 26
(5) The number of rooms for rent at the property; 27
(6) Whether the registrant rents or owns; and 28
(7) Intended use (entire space, private room, or shared space). 29
(e) The assigned registration number shall consist of numeric and alpha characters, the 30
alpha characters shall correspond to the city/town where the property is located and shall be uniform 31
for the remaining properties in said city/town. 32
(f) Registration forms and/or any registration materials required by the department shall be 33
completed prior to a listing by a hosting platform. The registration number shall be valid for the 34
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year during which it is assigned, and if a listed property is not duly registered after the expiration 1
of the annual registration period, the hosting platform shall remove the property listing from its 2
website within fourteen (14) days of notification from the department. 3
(g) The department of business regulation shall promulgate rules and regulations to 4
correspond with and enforce this section and § 42-63.1-14.1 and may charge a registration fee to 5
property owners registering with the department pursuant to this section. 6
(h) The department of business regulation shall create an online database to store all 7
registered short-term rental units, and each unit shall have an online identification number in said 8
database to correspond with subsection (e) of this section. 9
(i) Any owner of the property who or that fails to register with the department of business 10
regulation as prescribed herein and lists the property as a short-term rental on a hosting platform 11
website shall be subject to a civil fine as follows: 12
(1) Two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for the first thirty (30) days of noncompliance; 13
(2) Five hundred dollars ($500) for between thirty-one (31) and sixty (60) days of 14
noncompliance; and 15
(3) One thousand dollars ($1,000) for more than sixty (60) days of noncompliance. 16
(j) Notwithstanding any other law or provision to the contrary, no person shall list any 17
residence for short-term rental for tourist or transient use without the property’s current, valid 18
registration number, and its expiration date, which hosting platforms shall require to be displayed 19
on the listing advertisement. Any hosting platform that offers short-term rental of residential 20
property for tourist or transient use without requiring the owner to display the current, valid 21
registration number of a property, and its expiration date, shall be subject to a civil fine of two 22
hundred fifty dollars ($250) per day per violation, with each property listing constituting a separate 23
violation. 24
(k) A hosting platform shall provide to the department of business regulation, on a quarterly 25
basis, an electronic report, in a format determined by the department of business regulation, of the 26
listings maintained, authorized, facilitated, or advertised by the hosting platform within the state 27
for the applicable reporting period. The report shall include a breakdown of the municipality where 28
the listings are located, whether the listing is for a room or a whole unit, the total number of short-29
term rentals listed on the platform, the registration number of each short-term rental listed on the 30
platform, the URL link of each short-term rental listed on the platform, and shall include the number 31
of nights each unit was reported as occupied during the applicable reporting period. 32
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SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage and shall apply retroactively and 1
prospectively to all municipal actions taken to deny the owner from offering and renting the unit 2
for tourist or transient use. 3
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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 allow an owner of a residential unit to rent the unit for tourist or transient 1
use. This act would prohibit any municipality from enacting any licensing, permitting, zoning, 2
ordinance, rule or regulation that would deny the owner from offering and renting the unit for tourist 3
or transient use. 4
This act would take effect upon passage and would apply retroactively and prospectively 5
to all municipal actions denying the owner from offering and renting the unit for tourist or transient 6
use. 7
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