Short-term-rental rules
Can you Airbnb in Yorktown, NY?
Researched and reviewed by Jake Lee, FounderCurrent as of July 2026How this atlas is maintained
Yorktown has no short-term-rental-specific law, but its zoning effectively restricts STRs: renting a home or rooms to transient guests makes it a "tourist home," which is allowed only by special use permit and only when run by the resident owner or lessee living there. Un-hosted whole-home Airbnbs are not a listed permitted use in residential districts, and under the code's permissive-zoning clause unlisted uses are prohibited.
The operator's read
Can I run a short-term rental in Yorktown, NY?
No go for nightly stays
The rule that closes it: § 300-60: a tourist home/boardinghouse is permitted only when conducted in a dwelling by the RESIDENT owner or lessee, i.e., owner-occupied/hosted only; a non-resident whole-home STR cannot qualify.
- Is there a legal way to rent short-term in Yorktown?
- Most ordinances of this kind restrict stays under 30 nights and leave longer furnished rentals alone, so a 30-plus-night rental is usually the compliant route in Yorktown. Confirm the specifics against the sources on this page before you rely on it.
What would you do with a property in Yorktown?
Not for nightly stays. The compliant play in Yorktown is a furnished rental of 30 nights or more, which most ordinances of this kind leave open, and which we can set up and run. If you are buying specifically to run nightly stays, buy somewhere else.
What the rules say in Yorktown
- Permissive zoning: uses not listed as permitted in a district are prohibited (Code § 300-21B).
- A dwelling offering overnight accommodations to transient guests is a "tourist home" (§ 300-3 definition), the code's category that captures STR activity; hotels (6+ rooms, primarily transients) and boardinghouses (3+ roomers) are defined separately.
- Tourist homes and boardinghouses are allowed in residential districts (R1-200 through R1-10, R-2, R-3) only as a main use by special permit under Article VII (§ 300-21C(1)(b)[15]).
- § 300-60: a tourist home/boardinghouse is permitted only when conducted in a dwelling by the RESIDENT owner or lessee, i.e., owner-occupied/hosted only; a non-resident whole-home STR cannot qualify.
- § 300-60 conditions: no individual kitchen/dining in sleeping rooms, no change to exterior appearance, max one rented sleeping room per 1,000 sq ft of lot area (10-room cap), rooms at least 100 sq ft, one off-street parking space per rented room.
- The only as-of-right rental accessory use in a dwelling is keeping no more than two NONtransient roomers or boarders (§ 300-21C(1)(c)[2]); transient (short-term) roomers are excluded.
- Hotels/motels require special permits and belong to commercial districts (§ 300-52); conversion of pre-1930 dwellings to hotels/multiple residences also needs a special permit (§ 300-68).
- No STR registration law, transient-occupancy law, or rental-permit chapter exists in the town code (verified against the Nov 27, 2025 capture of the live code; no later adoption found in town or news sources through July 2026).
- The Town of Yorktown contains no incorporated villages, so the town code applies town-wide (Yorktown Heights, Jefferson Valley, Shrub Oak, Mohegan Lake, Crompond are hamlets under town zoning).
Sources: Town of Yorktown Code, Ch. 300 Zoning, Article V: Schedule of Regulations (eCode360, live canonical page); § 300-21 Schedule of Regulations full text (permissive-zoning clause, residential use lists, nontransient-roomers accessory use), archived copy consulted; § 300-3 Definitions (tourist home, boardinghouse, hotel, family, dwelling unit), archived copy consulted; Ch. 300 Article VII Permitted Special Uses content incl. § 300-60 tourist-home standards, Nov 27 2025 capture of live code (currency check); § 300-60 Tourist homes, boardinghouses and rooming houses (special-permit standards), archived copy consulted; Town of Yorktown Code, Ch. 300 Article VII: Permitted Special Uses (eCode360, live canonical page); Town of Yorktown official site search result (no STR regulation pages found on yorktownny.org). Last reviewed 2026-07.
How short-term rentals are regulated in New York
- New York has no single statewide short-term-rental ban. Towns, villages, and cities set their own rules through local ordinances and zoning, so rules can differ sharply between neighboring municipalities in the same county.
- Short stays in New York are generally subject to state and local sales tax, and many counties add a local occupancy (hotel/motel) tax, often collected by the booking platform on the host's behalf.
- Common local controls include permits or registration, primary-residence requirements, and zoning limits on which districts allow short-term use. In New York, a town and a village inside it can each have their own rule.
- Rules change. An ordinance can be added or amended at any time. Always confirm the current rule with the municipality before listing.
Navigating Yorktown's rules?
We'll help you find out what's actually possible for your Yorktown property, short-term, mid-term, or otherwise, and run it if it's a fit.
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