Short-term rental legislative commission seeks input from Aquidneck Islanders

The Special Legislative Commission to Review and Provide Recommendations for Policies that Deal with Numerous Economic and Social Short-Term Rentals Issues is shown meeting at the Rhode Island State House on Dec. 6, 2023. Lauren H. Carson, a Newport Democrat who chairs the panel is shown speaking at the lower right. At far right is the vice chair, Rep. Terri Cortvriend, a Portsmouth Democrat. (Michael Salerno/Rhode Island Current)

A Rhode Island State House commission studying how the state should regulate short-term rentals wants written testimony from Aquidneck Island residents ahead of its meeting next Thursday

Short-term rentals listed on online platforms have been explicitly legal since 2021, when the Rhode Island General Assembly passed legislation creating a registry of short-term rental properties.

Since 2023, the 15-member panel of legislators has been studying the impact of the rise of alternative lodging options like Airbnb and VRBO, particularly in tourism-dependent communities like Newport. The panel's Nov. 21 meeting, scheduled for 2 p.m. in the House Lounge, will focus solely on public comment — aside from a commission overview.

Written testimony submitted to the commission so far has been supportive of short-term rentals on Jamestown, Narragansett and Block Island.

"The vacation home rental businesses on Block Island drives our economy, without it we would NOT be able to sustain our full time residents," Mary Stover, the principal broker for Beach Real Estate of Block Island wrote.

Commission chair Rep. Lauren Carson, a Newport Democrat, and vice chair Rep. Terri Cortvriend, a Portsmouth Democrat, who also represents parts of Middletown, are especially interested in hearing testimony from Aquidneck Islanders.

"The rise of the short-term rental industry has had such a profound effect on Aquidneck Island over the course of the last decade or so," Carson said in a statement. "We really want people to share their experiences and opinions, whatever they may be, with our commission so we can collect a body of testimony that captures how people in the community feel about the growth of this sector in their neighborhood."

Part of the commission's work is narrowing the definition of what exactly a short-term rental is. State law defines a short-term rental as a dwelling unit used for transient lodging for no more than 30 consecutive nights at a time.

The panel is also reviewing the industry's impact on year-round and local housing markets, along with the potential health and safety concerns brought by short-term rentals.

Written testimony must be emailed to Carson at , or Cortvriend at , by Wednesday, Nov. 20, in order to be included in the record for the commission meeting scheduled the following day.