Are you ready for short-term rental laws that will go into effect on January 1, 2026? Here’s a recap of new laws that apply to rentals of 30 days or less that are offered on a hosting platform like Airbnb, VRBO, or a brokerage website.

TAX CHANGES

• Whole Home Short-Term Rental Tax

A new whole home tax of 5% will apply to short-term rentals of 30 days or less that are listing on a hosting platform

• Increase in Hotel Tax

The local hotel tax on short-term rentals will increase from 1% to 2% on January 1, 2026. The tax applies to both whole home and partial home/room rentals.

The landlord must collect these taxes from tenants. The RI Division of Taxation has issued this bulletin with more information on these tax changes. Review the legislation here.

NEW TRAINING REQUIREMENT

• Human Trafficking Prevention

This law requires operators of hotels or short-term rentals of 30 days or less to:

• Complete human trafficking prevention training that is approved and/or offered by the RI Department of Business Regulation.
• Complete training before the first listing of a short-term rental property on a hosting platform like VRBO or brokerage web site and by the end of every calendar year after that.
• Adopt policies to report suspected human trafficking to the National Human Trafficking Hotline or to a local law enforcement agency.

DBR has released this notice about the new law. For more information, please contact the RIAR Legal Department at [email protected].