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

Section 215-24.7 of the Town of Tonawanda Code sets the standards a host must meet before renting short-term. Subsection A requires the operator to hold a business license, register the rental as a business, and pay Erie County's Hotel Occupancy Tax on every stay, the same levy the county applies to hotels and inns. Subsection B confines the use to an owner-occupied single-family dwelling or a detached accessory structure on that same lot, so absentee owners and unrelated corporate landlords cannot register a rental under this chapter, and Subsection C bars the use on any nonconforming lot or inside a nonconforming structure.

Subsection D limits on-site sales of merchandise to items incidental to the stay, and Subsection E requires the residential character of the lot to be preserved, prohibiting nonresidential structural alterations or additions. Subsection F caps nonresidential staff at two employees reporting for work, and Subsection G requires the property to meet the Town's off-street parking minimums on-site, though the reviewing board may grant relief through site plan review when on-site parking is impracticable. Subsection H bars parking in the front yard outside an approved driveway and requires screening of parking areas from neighbors and the public right-of-way, while Subsection I requires all outdoor lighting to be shielded so it does not spill onto neighboring properties.

Because the tax obligation runs to Erie County rather than the Town, hosts must separately register with the county's Hotel Occupancy Tax program in addition to the Town's business licensing and registration requirement under § 215-24.7.A.