Limited data suggests they shrink inventory, raise rents

More than two dozen cities and towns have enacted zoning ordinances restricting and regulating short-terms rentals in recent years. Many of the ordinances have the stated purpose preserving ”the quality and quantity of the housing stock.” But a bill making its way through the Legislature may undermine the growing effort to control the growth of rentals in the age of Airbnb and Vrbo.

Senate Bill 249, which would loosen municipal restrictions on short-term rental properties, enjoyed bipartisan support in the NH Senate and carried the chamber by a voice vote. The bill was introduced by Sen. Harold French, R-Franklin, and co-sponsored by 10 Senators, including Majority Leader Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, and minority leader Donna Soucy, D-Manchester.

The House Municipal and County Government Committee was scheduled to take up the measure on April 7.

The bill would forbid municipalities from prohibiting the use of any single or two-family building as a vacation or short-term rental either in whole or in part regardless of its ownership or occupancy as well as whether it is conforming or non-nonconforming. The bill echoes a slightly more expansive bill — SB 458 — which

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