Amherst, NY Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)

Chapter 44's fee schedule, § 44-20, funds the Town's Rental Dwelling Unit Registration Program. Subsection A sets a baseline: there is no charge to apply for a rental dwelling unit registration certificate, but the owner must pay $75 per unit when the property is scheduled for its required inspection, and the certificate is then valid for three years. Subsection B carves out short-term rentals for a separate, ongoing fee: an owner running a short-term rental in a property that is owner-occupied pays $250 per unit every year, while an owner running one in a property that is not owner-occupied pays $500 per unit every year.

Every registered rental unit, short-term or otherwise, also owes a $75 annual renewal fee under the same section, and a new owner taking over a registered unit must pay off any current or delinquent annual fees at the time of application. The Town directs all money collected under this fee schedule into a designated account used solely to hire additional staff or buy equipment for the Rental Dwelling Unit Registration Program inside the Building Department. C waives the certificate fee for new dwellings at the completion of a building permit.

D adds a $75 inspection fee for every inspection after the second one that turns up a code violation, though the Commissioner can waive it, and the fee never applies to inspections ordered after a court action has started. The Commissioner reviews this whole fee schedule annually under § 44-11 and can recommend changes to the Town Board.