Board of Alders vote scheduled · Monday, Nov. 16, 2026

Put New Haven First.
Study the economic impacts before you ban short-term rentals.

The city is about to vote on a proposal that would ban most short-term rentals. Cleaners, tradespeople, restaurants, shops and small local owners haven’t been counted. We’re asking the Board of Alders for one thing: delay this vote at least 18 months for a real economic impact study.

Write your alder in 2 minutes What’s in the proposal

The proposal

OR-2026-0039

Short-Term Rental License Program. The first Board of Alders meeting on this proposal is Thursday, Nov. 5, and the second and final meeting and vote is Monday, Nov. 16.

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Board of Alders · Mon., Nov. 16 · 7 p.m. · 165 Church St. If passed, the ban takes effect March 31, 2027.

What’s in OR-2026-0039

A ban on virtually all short-term rentals.

30

days or less is banned

Any stay of 30 days or less in a home where the host doesn’t live is a prohibited “vacation rental.”

No grandfathering

Existing homes and the people who restored them get no transition. One license per host, and licenses can’t be transferred.

$250

a day in fines

Every day a violation continues is a new fine, and booking sites must check a city license number before every reservation.

Private lawsuits

Any “interested person” can go to court to stop a rental, and whoever wins collects their legal fees.

What’s missing from the public record: an estimate of how many homes would actually return to the housing market, what enforcement would cost, and what it would mean for local jobs and businesses.

Who it affects

They’re New Haveners too.

Short stays don’t just involve a host and a guest. They support a web of local work and spending that nobody has measured yet.

Cleaners and turnover crews

Steady, local, often flexible work between every stay.

Tradespeople

Plumbers, electricians, painters, carpenters and landscapers who renovate and maintain these homes.

Restaurants, cafés and bars

From Wooster Square pizza to Westville coffee, guests eat out, often every meal.

Shops and local services

Markets, bookstores, salons, gyms, florists, dry cleaners and more.

Families who need to be here

Visiting a patient at the hospital, a student at college, a new grandchild, a funeral, a wedding.

Local employers

Hospitals, labs, theaters and companies that house travel nurses, new hires, crews and visiting staff.

The housing question

We want more homes for New Haveners, too.

Housing costs are a real problem, and supporters of this proposal care about it. So do we. But a policy this big should be built on local facts, not guesswork.

?How many listings are whole homes or apartments that would actually become long-term rentals?
?How many local jobs and how much local spending depend on the short-term rental market?
?What will licensing, inspections and enforcement cost the city every year?
?Are there rules — registration, safety inspections, nuisance enforcement — that solve the real problems with less harm to New Haven businesses?

Our ask

Delay the vote at least 18 months.

Give the city time to do a proper economic impact study — so any rule that follows reduces the harm to local people and businesses instead of guessing at it.

Why 18 months

Count what’s real

How many whole homes or apartments, not rooms or duplicate listings, would actually return to long-term housing.

Hear who’s affected

Workers, small businesses, employers and families who rely on short stays.

Price it out

What licensing, inspections, verification and enforcement would cost the city each year.

Try what works

Registration, safety inspections and nuisance enforcement — then decide with real numbers.

Ask your alder now

Take two minutes

Write your alder. CC the mayor.

Tell us who you are and where you live or work. We’ll find your alder and draft a short letter you can edit and send from your own email.

Your letter will appear here.

Addressed to your ward’s alder, with Mayor Justin Elicker copied. Edit anything you like, or shuffle for a different version.

Who we are

New Haveners asking for a study.

We’re residents and small business owners who think the city should look before it leaps. We’re asking for a study, not a free pass.

Run a New Haven business, or work for one? Add your face.

Send a photo, your name, your business or trade, and one sentence on why you want a study. We’ll only post it with your written OK.

Add me

Put New Haven First.Study the economic impacts before you ban short-term rentals.