A chic Long Island hotspot on the luxurious North Fork is threatening to cap the number of Airbnbs and short-term rentals it allows at just 1 percent of listings thanks to insufferable influencers and tourists.
A proposal in the town of Southold would significantly limit the number of short-term rental homes to fewer than 120 in the town’s nine hamlets, an estimated 80 percent drop from the current market.
“We’re having a hard time regulating (the short-term rental market),” Southold City Attorney Ben Johnson told Newsday.
Under the proposed law, the few available permits would be awarded through a random lottery, a move that could upend a local short-term rental market that brings in about $27.5 million in revenue for hosts, while leaving most of the city’s approximately 640 current landlords out in the cold.
But as the short-term rental industry has grown in Long Island’s upscale East End, so have residents’ complaints about loud parties, overflowing trash and parking problems.
The increase in seasonal vacation homes has also strained the region’s year-round housing supply, driving up costs amid a major regional housing and affordability crisis, officials said.
“We understand that this is a seasonal economy, (but) most of the complaints we get are from people who claim it’s just a revolving door next to their house,” Johnson said.
The city has technically banned rentals of less than 14 days since 2015, but officials admit the rule is virtually impossible to enforce, leading to the new proposal.
Under the plan, landlords would be limited to one permit per person or LLC and would need a valid two-year general rental permit, which requires fire and safety inspections.
They would also need $1 million in general liability insurance and plans for parking and trash removal, while homes with cesspools would be fully enclosed.
Last year, a city report found there were about 640 short-term rentals in Southold, with an average price of $902 a night.
Meanwhile, the median home price in North Fork recently hit a record $1.25 million, more than 10 times Southold’s median household income of about $116,600, according to census data.
Southold’s proposed crackdown comes as leaders in the neighboring town of Southampton, on the adjacent South Fork, have effectively banned weekend getaways in August 2025.
The change was made after residents of Southampton, like those of Southold, complained that the nightly “rages” of weekend warriors were keeping them up too late and making the posh seaside village unbearable.
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