Clarkstown Homeowner Sues Town for Banning Airbnb and Short-Term Rentals

Rockland Daily Staff

The owner of a four-bedroom home in Valley Cottage purchased in 2018 for use as an Airbnb is suing the Town of Clakrsktown for putting a monkeywrench in her plans. 

The owner's goal of using the home for a rental ground to a halt initially when the building department issued a violation for her cabana with a two-foot overhang. Obtaining the permit dragged on so long that by the time it was granted, the Town had instated a new ban in March 2022 on Airbnb and other short-term rental uses in residential neighborhoods.

The case, based on whether Clarkstown obstructed Emma Martinez's ability to register her property while short-term rentals were still allowed in Clarkstown, just moved from the Rockland County Supreme Court to the U.S. District Court in White Plains.

Martinez's lawyer claims the Town purposely delayed the application while it sought to ban Airbnbs and all short-term rentals.

The first step against short-term rentals taken by the Town was in December 2020, when short-term rental provisions were added to the Town code requiring homeowners to acquire permits. Then, in March 2022, a unanimous vote was passed by the Town council banning short-term rentals of 29 days or less in all Town residential zones.

Martinez's lawsuit filed in May against the Town of Clarkstown in Rockland County Supreme Court sought $2 million in damages, claiming the Town deprived Martinez of the right to use her property as permitted without compensating her for the taking.

In June, Clarkstown asked for the case to be moved to federal court where it is seeking a dismissal, saying Martinez has been able to utilize her property in a variety of ways, including renting it, living in it, or selling it. As she never had the right to use the property as a short-term rental, she is not deprived of something she never had the right to do.

The federal case is scheduled to take place in October.