Short-Term Rental Laws in The Hamptons, New York

The Hamptons (which spans the Towns of East Hampton and Southampton across Suffolk County's South Fork) operate Rental Registry ordinances that require all rental properties (not just STRs) to register with the Town. East Hampton Town caps rentals at no more than 2 rental periods of less than 2 weeks within any 6-month period for any single property — a de facto restriction on high-turnover STR operation. Southampton Town has a similar but slightly more permissive cap. Both registries require a Certificate of Occupancy, life-safety inspection, and renewal every 2 years. Investor-owned long-rental (4+ week) operation remains broadly permitted.

East Hampton + Southampton Town zoning broadly permits residential rental use across all residential districts subject to the Rental Registry rules. The binding restriction is the East Hampton "2 rentals of <2 weeks per 6 months" rule which directly targets weekly/weekend STR turnover. Operators pivoting to monthly-or-longer rentals largely escape the cap. The incorporated Villages within the Towns (East Hampton Village, Sag Harbor Village, Southampton Village, Westhampton Beach Village) maintain their OWN parallel registries — confirm both Town and Village registration if your parcel is inside a Village boundary.

Operators must hold a short-term rental permit before listing. See the official permit portal.

East Hampton Town Code Enforcement and the Town's Rental Registry administrator jointly enforce. Operating without a registry number: $1,000–$8,000 per violation depending on iteration count. The 2-rental-per-6-months cap is monitored via Code Enforcement complaint follow-up and platform listing review. Suffolk County collects the 3% hotel/motel tax via quarterly remittance — separate registration with Suffolk County Treasurer's office required. The 2026 NY State STR registry bill (proposed; not yet enacted) would add a state-level registration layer.

Combined short-term lodging tax in The Hamptons is approximately 11.625% of gross nightly revenue (state sales + state TRT + local TRT + applicable resort/city options).

NY State sales 4% + Suffolk County sales 4.25% + Suffolk County 3% hotel/motel tax + East Hampton/Southampton ~0.375% — combined ~11.625% on transient lodging

Verify the current combined rate via the Utah State Tax Commission before remitting — rates drift quarterly.