Mount Vernon, NY Short-Term Rentals: Primary-Residence-Only Rule (2026)

Section 267-96B makes it unlawful to use, establish, maintain, operate, occupy, rent, or lease any property as a short-term rental if the property is not an occupied primary residence, and requires the property to remain the owner's or tenant's primary residence for the entire term of the permit. Section 267-95 defines an occupied primary residence as a dwelling unit used by the owner or tenant as their primary home; if the property is titled or leased to a business entity, every owner or member of that entity must actually live there, and a trustee-owned property qualifies only if the grantor or grantee occupies the premises.

Section 267-96A allows short-term rentals in one-family, two-family, and multifamily dwellings in any zoning district where residential use is permitted, but § 267-96C carves out categorical exclusions regardless of occupancy: multifamily buildings with an active PILOT agreement with the Mount Vernon or Westchester County Industrial Development Agency, multifamily buildings that are entirely rent-regulated, units where the lease or occupancy agreement bars short-term rental, and nonresidential buildings. A permit holder who stops occupying the property as a primary residence faces revocation under § 267-97C(1)(b), with a right to appeal a denial, suspension, or revocation to the Zoning Board of Appeals within 30 days and, if still unsatisfied, to file an Article 78 proceeding in state court within 30 days of the Board's decision.