Southampton, NY Rental Property Rules: Rental Registration (2026)

Town Code § 270-3A and B make it unlawful for an owner, person or managing agent to cause a rental property to be occupied, rented, leased, subleased or otherwise used, or to collect rent, without a valid rental permit issued by the Town's enforcement authority (the Chief Building Inspector, the Public Safety and Emergency Management Administrator, the Chief Fire Marshal, or the Town Attorney's Investigation Unit, per § 270-1). Permits run for two years under § 270-4A and require an application filed under § 270-5 with proof of ownership, a designated agent for service of process, the number of intended tenants, a certification of code compliance from a licensed architect, engineer or home inspector (or an inspection by the enforcement authority), and a carter contract for weekly refuse pickup.

Section 270-8 sets a nonrefundable biennial application fee by Town Board resolution, waived or reduced for income-eligible, senior, veteran or volunteer-firefighter households and increased to an "in-violation fee" for owners found to have violated the chapter. Section 270-9K, added by L.L. No. 19-2023, separately requires any advertisement for a rental in the Town outside the incorporated villages to display the rental permit number, updated within 10 days of a new permit's issuance; failing to do so is grounds for suspending the permit. A real estate broker or agent who lists a property without a verified active permit faces administrative suspension of listing privileges for two years under § 270-8H. The enforcement authority maintains a public register of permits by street address under § 270-7.