East Hampton Registry a First Step

A little-noticed aspect in the debate about East Hampton Town’s newly approved landlords’ registry is that even after it goes into effect in February, the town’s rental laws will remain among the most generous on eastern Long Island.

You would hardly have thought so if you were to have judged solely from the protests at Town Hall by those who have openly embraced illegal practices and were outraged — outraged — that they might soon have to comply with longstanding regulations that had failed to control turnover, excessive occupancy, and multiple short-term leases that have been increasingly abetted by a care-nothing online marketplace.

Within the last year, Southold and Islip Towns banned property rentals of less than two weeks outright. East Hampton, by marked contrast, allows up to four short-duration leases, though no more than two in any six-month period. For a long time, Southampton Town has had a rental registry, and property inspections there are mandatory. In East Hampton Town, however, a landlord’s attesting that a property meets safety and zoning standards is all the new law requires. Brookhaven, too, has its own registry — with significantly higher fees than in East Hampton.

The East Hampton Town Board should be applauded for not capitulating to those who have openly broken town and possibly federal laws for far too long. As a tool to facilitate better enforcement, the rental registry was long overdue. Its vocal opponents let the money they make get the better of their sense of community. And, given the summertime chaos to which short-termers unarguably contribute, serious thought should be given to following our UpIsland neighbors and getting tougher still.