Newport Launches New Online Short-Term Rental Portal

NEWPORT, RI — Newport city officials have launched a new short term rental portal online in an attempt to streamline registration and compliance of the city’s roughly 360 recorded short-term rentals.

Powered by GovOS, the new system is designed to make it easier for property owners to properly register their units and for city staff to enforce Newport’s existing ordinances, city officials said. The move also shifts the registration process away from the city clerk’s office, which will no longer be accepting or processing short-term rental applications. Instead, property owners will be directed to the Newport Short-Term Rental Office, which is charged with both registration and enforcement of the City’s STR rules.

Over the coming weeks, property owners with previous Transient Guest Facility Certificates will be receiving a registration letter by mail from the city with account and activation code information, as well as instructions on the registration process. A second mailing will follow in March, and anyone with questions about accessing their account information are asked to please contact City staff via email at str@cityofnewport.com.

Once logged in, the Short-Term Rental Portal will provide owners the option of paperless registration and certification, as well as a dedicated business with agents available from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.

The new system can be found via the city’s website here.

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