Homeowners throughout Southampton are often surprised when told that short-term or "transient" rentals are "illegal" in the eyes and the written law of the Town of Southampton.
"Illegal?!", they ask. "Does that make me a criminal if I rent my house for just one month?" Technically, the answer is yes. And the number of days is actually 29. Rent your home for 29 days or less and you break the law.
In their effort to reduce or eliminate the dangers of overcrowded group rentals, the Town Board enacted a law in 2007 which, among other provisions, prohibited all Southampton Town residents from renting their homes for periods of less than 30 days. References in the law to "Traditional Families" may, themselves, be violations of State and Federal fair housing laws. But, the worst likely offense is that the rental limitations are entirely unconstitutional and, therefore, so would any revision, such as those proposed by Nuzzi.
What to do? What to do? Drink the sea water or die of thirst? In this case, I think I'll drink the sea water.
Nuzzi's intentions are good and honorable. He wants to lessen the risk that ordinary citizens, like me and you, might end up in the hallowed halls of the SHPD and Justice Courts, should we rent our homes "accidently on purpose".
Unconstitutional, you worry? Those are the thoughts of many local attorneys who have been asked the same question by their home-owning clients. "Can I or can't I?", that is the question. The answer may only ever be found in the decisions of higher courts one fine day. Or perhaps Mr. Nuzzi will truly do the right thing and eliminate this Section from the law entirely. Only then would our outbound Councilman truly save homeowners from having to pay more attorneys fees for "that one fine day in court" that seems so inevitable.
"What say ye, Councilman Nuzzi?" Will you make one of your last acts in office the truly noble act of making Southampton residents honest citizens and not criminals?
As long as a man's/woman's home is his/her/their castle, they still have many rights and, chief among them is the right to rent their home, wouldn't you think? Until the law now on the books of our Town are made more clear, I suspect that we should all support the Councilman's proposal to amend the law, however errant is may or may not be, unless he agrees to remove this provision in its entirety.
Those with particular interest in this case, should attend the public hearing scheduled for this Tuesday, May 14 at 1:00PM and lend your comment to the public record.
You can obtain a copy of the proposed law from the Town Clerk's Office. And you can write to Councilman Nuzzi at CNUZZI@SouthamptonTownNy.gov with your suggestions.
Einstein said that a person who never makes a mistake never tries anything new. I'm hoping that the proposed amendment might right a wrong and not simply make another mistake...something new, perhaps, for the Southampton Town Board to try...for a change.
