Stowe VT Short-Term Rental Ordinance: What to Know

Stowe's Short-Term Rental Ordinance is Final: What Owners and Buyers Need to Know

After many months of drafts, meetings, and public input, the Town of Stowe has adopted its Short-Term Rental Ordinance. Whether you own an STR here, are thinking about buying one, or are just keeping an eye on the market, here is a plain look at what the rules say and where the opportunities are.

The Basics

All short-term rental properties in Stowe, defined as any residential dwelling rented to the public for fewer than 30 consecutive days and more than 14 days per calendar year, will now need to be registered with the Town and hold an annual STR License. Licenses run from May 1 through April 30 and must be renewed each year. Owners are also required to designate a responsible person who can be physically on-site within 45 minutes of an emergency call, and properties must have a fire department approved lockbox for 24-hour access.

Properties located within the Spruce Peak, Topnotch, and Trapp Family Lodge, Ski and Resort PUDs, are classified as commercial lodging establishments and are fully exempt from the ordinance. Timeshare properties in place at the time of adoption are also exempt.

Why It Pays to Register Before September 15

The ordinance establishes a cap of 850 STR licenses town-wide, which takes effect on September 15, 2026. Here is the important piece for anyone who currently owns or is under contract on a Stowe property with STR potential: anyone who obtains their license before that deadline will be grandfathered in. That means you can continue renewing your license year after year regardless of where the total count stands, and your place on the registry is protected.

There are roughly 1,200 licenses registered in Stowe today. It will take years of non-renewals to bring that number down to 850. But if you are not on the registry yet, including buyers picking up a property that already rents short-term, September 15 is your deadline to get in without competing for a spot in the lottery.

How the Lottery Works

Once the cap kicks in, anyone without a valid license as of June 1 who wants to rent short-term has to go through a lottery. Here is how it runs.

By May 31, the Town Manager figures out how many licenses are available for the year. Between June 1 and June 30, you submit a lottery form and pay a fee, which is nonrefundable. Your form and fee have to be in by July 1 to count.

What happens next depends on the numbers. If there are enough licenses to go around, the Town can just issue registration forms to everyone who applied and skip the drawing. If more people apply than there are licenses, the Town holds the lottery.

The drawing happens on or around July 15 and is run by the Town Manager. Every eligible form gets a number, and a random number generator picks the winners. It is live streamed and recorded, and you do not have to show up to be eligible. The Town also draws one extra name as an alternate. The results are final and cannot be appealed.

If you are picked, you have until August 1 to turn in your full registration form and fee, or 14 days from the date you receive written notice, whichever is later. Miss it, and the alternate gets 14 days to take your place. If the alternate misses too, that license just goes unused for the year.

A Guaranteed Way In for 2027-2028 and 2028-2029

The Board added something important for people who miss this year's September window. If the cap would otherwise mean no licenses are available at all for the 2027-2028 or 2028-2029 years, the Town will still put 20 new licenses into the lottery each of those two years. Since the count is starting well above 850, that is likely how it will play out, so there will be a real chance to get on the registry in both of those years, even though it will be competitive.

Licenses Do Not Come With the House

If you buy a licensed short-term rental in a normal sale, the seller's license does not transfer to you. You have to get your own.

That is exactly why the September 15 date matters.

Family and Trust Transfers Are Protected

While licenses do not survive an arms-length sale, the ordinance preserves them across the transfers that matter most for estate and succession planning. Licenses may be transferred to a trust in which the owner is the settlor, between an owner and their spouse, and to parents, children, children's spouses, grandparents, grandchildren, and grandchildren's spouses, all without consideration. Transfers under a divorce decree are covered, as are transfers upon the owner's death to a qualifying family member who will hold at least a 10% share, provided a death certificate is submitted with the paperwork. Homestead licenses carry the same protections and can be converted to a standard STR License upon transfer.

In every case, the transferee must file a new Short-Term Rental Registration Renewal Form within 30 days of the transfer to claim the exemption. That 30-day window is firm and easy to overlook, so it belongs on the closing checklist.

Full-Time Residents Get Their Own Track

If Stowe is your primary residence, the ordinance treats you differently. You can get a Homestead STR License even after the 850 cap is full, covering up to two dwelling units on your property, with a separate license for each one. The catch is simple: it has to stay your primary residence for the whole year. If that changes, the Town can pull the license after giving you seven days written notice.

Do Not Miss the April 30 Renewal

Here is a quiet risk that could catch someone off guard. If you do not get your renewal form in by April 30, you lose the ability to rent that unit short-term until you file a brand new registration and get it approved, and that new filing is subject to the cap. A missed deadline can drop a long-time owner into the lottery with the first-time applicants. Put it on the calendar.

The Rule That Will Shape the Market Over Time

There is one detail worth knowing about. In any year where the Town issues fewer licenses than the cap allows, the cap automatically drops to match the number actually issued, unless the Selectboard says otherwise. The ceiling can go down, but it does not go back up on its own. Every year that licenses go unclaimed, the number gets a little smaller for good. Over time, this is probably the rule that will matter most for what a Stowe STR license is worth

Enforcement

If you violate the ordinance, you can pay a waiver fee of $100, $200, $300, or $400, depending on the number of offenses you have, or contest it and face civil penalties of $200, $400, $600, or $800. Offenses are counted from May 1 to April 30 each year. On a third ticket, the Town can revoke your registration, though you can appeal to the Selectboard. If your license is revoked, you have to wait twelve months before reapplying.

Looking Ahead

Stowe has always been good to buyers who come in with solid information, and that has not changed. We think it will take a year or two to really see how this shakes out, how many owners let their licenses lapse, how competitive the lottery gets, and how the market responds. The fundamentals here are as strong as they have ever been, and if you are thinking about buying in Stowe, there is every reason to feel good about it.

If you own an STR, are under contract, or are looking at a purchase with rental income in mind, we are glad to talk through what this means for you. Reach out any time.