Division 8. Short-Term Rentals

This Division is to establish the licensing requirements for short-term rentals within Prince George's County, Maryland. It also establishes the rules, regulations, fees, penalties and enforcement provisions for short-term rentals. In the shared economy, hosting platforms enable people to utilize and rent his or her home on a short-term basis. Short-term rentals are not regulated to the same standards as a hotel or motel, however, individuals utilizing short-term rentals and the associated hosting platforms acknowledge, understand and accept these differences in standards. Rental licenses are different from short-term rental licenses and cannot be used interchangeably. Rental licenses are regulated pursuant to Subtitle 13 Division 4. Short-term rental licenses are regulated pursuant to Subtitle 5 Division 8. Each license must be applied for separately, adhering to and satisfying the applicable standards for each license.

Booking service means a reservation and/or payment service provided by a person or entity that facilitates a short-term rental transaction between a host and a prospective short-term rental guest for which the person or entity collects fees in connection with the reservation or facilitates payment services between the host and guest.

Days means calendar days.

Department means the Department of Permitting, Inspections, and Enforcement.

Director means the Director of the Department of Permitting, Inspections, and Enforcement.

Dwelling unit means any room or group of rooms forming a single unit that is used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, and the preparation and eating of meals, and that is located within a building that is wholly or partially used or intended to be used for living and sleeping by human occupants.

Host means a legal owner of a residential dwelling unit and who provides or offers to provide all or part of a residential dwelling unit for short-term rental and has obtained a short-term rental license from Prince George's County. The host must provide proof of ownership with a copy of his or her Homestead Tax Credit filing.

Hosting platform ("Platform") means a person or entity that facilitates a short-term rental by providing booking services through which a licensed host may lawfully provide a residential dwelling unit for short-term rental use.

Listing means a complete list of all Prince George's County properties listed in the platform for the current and upcoming reporting periods, to include the host name, owner name, physical address, councilmanic district, municipality, license number, registration number, and rate charged for each short-term rental stay.

Nuisance means the following:

Owner Occupied means the host and legal owner of a residential dwelling unit who is present during the entire time of the short-term rental. Owner Occupied short-term rentals shall not be utilized by a short-term rental guest for more than 180 days per calendar year.

Permanent resident means an individual who is domiciled in Prince George's County, Maryland, maintains a place of abode in Prince George's County for 180 or more days during the year and is the individual who owns the property and obtains the homestead tax credit at that address. For purposes of this Subtitle, a host may have only one (1) permanent address, which is the address the host uses to obtain the homestead credit.

Short-term rental means a residential dwelling unit occupied by a short-term rental guest, other than a permanent occupant, for fewer than 31 consecutive days and no more than 90 days per calendar year, where a host receives monetary compensation for such occupancy, if the owner is not present during the rental. A short-term rental may be occupied by a short-term rental guest for no more than 180 days per calendar year, if the host is present during the short-term rental. A short-term rental provider shall not combine time limits for short-term rentals. The maximum allowable days for a short-term rental are 180 calendar days, provided all requirements are met for that time frame. A short-term rental is a tourist home that is an accessory use to a dwelling, but does not include a hotel, motel, inn, boarding house, group residential facility, and fraternity or sorority house.

Short-term rental guest means a transient who occupies, or has the right to occupy, a lawfully licensed short-term rental for a period of 30 days or less during any one continuous stay. This does not include a hotel, motel, inn, boarding house, group residential facility, fraternity or sorority house.

Short-term rental provider means a licensed host who lawfully offers for rent a short-term residential rental and does not include a hotel, motel, inn, boarding house, group residential facility, and fraternity or sorority house.

Except as provide in 5-175(b), a short-term rental license shall be obtained prior to operation and the short-term licensee shall comply with all applicable license requirements pursuant to this Division and the Prince George's County Code.

A person who has filed a complete application with the Department for a short-term rental license may operate a short-term rental for no more than 90 calendar days while the application is being assessed and evaluated by the Department. A person who has filed a complete application with the Department shall follow all of the requirements of a short-term rental provider during the 90-day operation of the short-term rental. The Department shall provide a 90-calendar day certificate upon determining that the property is the applicant's primary residence. The certificate shall state the start and end date of the 90 calendar days and there is a pending application for a short-term rental license. The issuance of a certificate while an application is pending does not guarantee that an applicant will be approved for a short-term rental license.

No person shall advertise or host a short-term rental unless the person maintains a short-term rental license for the specific address issued by the Department, or pursuant to Section 5-175(b) there is a complete and a filed application is being assessed during the 90-calendar day period.

The maximum allowable days are 180 calendar days. A short-term rental licensee or applicant with a certificate from the Department shall not combine days to exceed beyond the maximum 180 calendar days. All applicable time frames shall be followed as outlined in this Division.

Short-term rental licenses shall only be issued to hosts that utilize platforms licensed by Prince George's County, Maryland.

There shall be a completed application filed with the Department. Once the completed application has been filed, the Department will assess the application for compliance with all of the requirements for a short-term rental license. After the assessment of the application, the Department may approve the application and issue a short-term rental license.

The Department will maintain a database for all short-term rental licensees, which will include, but is not limited to emergency contact information for the licensed host and the person designated as the emergency contact. Prince George's County Government and Municipal Officials will have the ability to gain access to the host and emergency contact information in the short-term rental database.

Notwithstanding Section 5-175(g), the Department shall maintain an on-line searchable public database of all licensed short-term rentals in the County. The database shall include physical address, council district, municipality, license number, and whether the property has outstanding Code violations.

The Department may issue an annual short-term rental license to an eligible applicant.

Each short-term rental license expires annually on the anniversary of its issuance.

Fraud, misrepresentation, false statement and inaccuracies in the application or supporting documents shall be grounds for immediate revocation or denial of the short-term rental license. All the requirements of this Subtitle shall be continuously maintained throughout the duration of the license. Failure to do so shall be grounds for immediate revocation or denial of the short-term rental license.

Shall pay all applicable fees associated with the application and approval of the license, including the initial $150 licensing fee, thereafter there will be an annual fee of $150;

An applicant for a short-term rental license shall:

The Department may require evidence of any of the above requirements in any form or manner it directs.

No license for a short-term rental shall be issued to a host until the application has been successfully and satisfactorily completed. All documentation shall be submitted and all requirements shall be adhered to prior to a determination being made about the issuance of a short-term license to the applicant.

Each short-term rental license expires annually on the anniversary of its issuance. The host must apply to renew the license thirty (30) days before the current license expires. Upon approval of the renewal license, the host shall submit the applicable licensing fee.

In addition to complying with all of the application requirements set forth in Section 5-175.01, the renewal applicant shall provide a copy of short-term rental guest log required by Sec. 5-175.03.

No one shall engage in the business of the short-term rentals without having obtained a license under this Division.

A person who has filed a complete application with the Department for a short-term rental license may operate a short-term rental for no more than 90 calendar days while the application is being assessed and evaluated by the Department. A person who has filed a complete application with the Department shall follow all of the requirements of a short-term rental provider during the 90 day operation of the short-term rental as prescribed in this Division and section 5-175.

No one shall utilize or list on a hosting platform without a short-term rental license, except as prescribed in section 5-175(b).

Anyone issued a short-term rental license shall do the following:

Maintain a log of all short-term rental guests that have rented the short-term rental when applying to renew the short-term rental license that shall be provided when applying for renewal of the short-term license;

Short-term rental hosting platforms shall be registered with the Department.

Platforms shall pay an annual licensing fee of $2,500 to lawfully operate in Prince George's County, Maryland.

Platforms shall require any short-term rental host to submit a copy of the host's rental license or 90 day pending application certificate to the platform, prior to the rental being listed on the platform.

Platforms shall electronically provide the following data to the Department in the method prescribed by the Department on a monthly basis. The data shall be submitted to the Department on or before the last calendar day of the month and shall include data from the preceding month and preceding year. The required data is as follows:

All platforms shall remit all hotel taxes, including but not limited to those collected by the short-term rental provider or applicant, as outlined in this section and Subtitle 10 Division 8 of the Prince George's County Code and:

The Department shall:

The Department shall provide on a monthly basis to lawfully licensed platforms the following information:

It shall be unlawful for a platform to list a short-term rental or for any person engaged in the business of short-term rentals to list on any platform when the following occurs:

The platform short-term rental license is a privilege and not a right. A platform short-term rental license may be suspended or revoked at any time or not renewed based upon non-compliance with the requirements of this Division and the Prince George's County Code.

A platform short-term rental license may be suspended or revoked due to a citation, corrective order, or violation notice citing violations of the Prince George's County Code.

All enforcement actions and penalties are at the Director's discretion, based upon the requirements of this Division.

If a platform collects a fee for booking services in connection with an unlicensed host, the platform shall be liable and subject to civil fines of $1,000 per violation. The civil fine may be imposed through either a violation notice or an administrative citation.

If a platform collects a fee for booking services in connection with someone who does not have a 90-day certificate from the Department regarding a filed and complete application, the platform shall be liable and subject to civil fines of not less than $1,000 per violation. The civil fine may be imposed through either a violation notice or an administrative citation.

An administrative citation or violation notice issued pursuant to this Division shall contain, at a minimum, all of the information required by Section 13-1125 of this Code and shall be served in accordance with the provisions of that Section.

The short-term rental license for a host is a privilege and not a right. A short-term rental license may be suspended or revoked at any time or not renewed based upon non-compliance with the requirements of this Division and the Prince George's County Code.

A short-term rental license may be suspended or revoked due to a citation, corrective order, or violation notice citing violations of the Prince George's County Code, including but not limited to violations of the building, electrical, plumbing or zoning codes.

The Department has the right to enter and inspect the short-term rental with reasonable notice to the host. Failure to provide timely access may serve as a basis to issue a violation notice or administrative citation, or to suspend or revoke a license.

The Department may immediately issue a violation notice or administrative citation, or may suspend or revoke a short-term rental license if the operation of the short-term rental constitutes a nuisance as defined in Section 5-174 or because of any adverse effect to public health, safety, and the general welfare, including excessive noise, traffic, physical activity, public safety, or other good cause.

The Department may immediately issue a violation notice or administrative citation or may suspend or revoke a license if under the Building Code a stop work or stop use order has been issued to the address.

All enforcement actions and penalties are at the Director's discretion, based upon the requirements of this Division.

If a short-term rental host license is suspended or revoked, Department shall notify in writing the host and all platforms on which the host currently lists.

In addition to any other penalty provided by law, any individual who violates this Division shall be subject to a civil fine of not less than $1,000. The civil fine may be imposed through either a violation notice or an administrative citation.

An administrative citation or violation notice issued pursuant to this Division shall contain, at a minimum, all of the information required by Section 13-1125 of this Code and shall be served in accordance with the provisions of that Section.

Any person aggrieved by an act or determination of the Director pursuant to this Division, including, but not limited to, the issuance of a violation notice or administrative citation, or the suspension or revocation of any license, may appeal such act or determination to the Administrative Hearing Unit established by Subtitle 13, Division 15 of this Code within ten (10) calendar days after receipt of notice of the act or determination of the Director. The Administrative Hearing Unit shall hold a hearing and the proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with the procedures outlined in Sections 13-1134 through 13-1151 and Section 13-1153 through 13-1154 of this Code. The Director shall have the initial burden to establish the basis for the determination from which the appeal was taken. The appellant shall have the burden to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the Director has misconstrued or wrongly interpreted the intent and meaning of this Code. The Administrative Hearing Unit shall determine only whether there was substantial evidence for the Director to take the enforcement action from which the appeal was taken. The Administrative Hearing Unit may not substitute its judgment for that of the Director.

The Administrative Hearing Unit may reverse, modify or remand the decision of the Director only if the decision of the Director is clearly erroneous, or arbitrary and capricious, or unsupported by any substantial evidence. Every decision of the Administrative Hearing Unit shall be given in writing within thirty (30) days of the hearing. A copy of each such decision shall be promptly filed with the Director and a copy shall be sent by U.S. first-class mail, sent electronically, or otherwise delivered to the appellant. An appellant aggrieved by a decision of the Administrative Hearing Unit may seek reconsideration of the matter in accordance with Section 13-1128 of this Code and all provisions of that Section shall apply to the disposition of the application for reconsideration. The decision of the Hearing Administrator on an application for reconsideration shall constitute the final decision of the Administrative Hearing Unit. Any party who, after having exhausted all administrative remedies available, is aggrieved by a final decision of the Administrative Hearing Unit may seek judicial review of that decision in the Circuit Court for Prince George's County, Maryland, in accordance with the Maryland Rules. The filing of a petition for judicial review does not stay an order of the Administrative Hearing Unit, unless a stay is granted by the circuit court.