Lawmakers move ahead with efforts to scrutinize, regulate AirBnB rentals.

Byline: Jessica Perry

A new bill would allow towns torequestlicensing and enforce other regulations onAirBnBrentals in their towns, as lawmakers make efforts to regulate the emerging business model taking on the hotel and hospitality industry.

Assembly Bill 3721 would allow towns to pass ordinances on any rentals less than 30 days or completely ban Airbnb's. The Assembly Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee approved it Thursday in a 6-0 vote with one abstention.

A3721spells out the specifics of the ordinance that towns would be allowed to adopt. The ordinance would bar the owner from offering anyAirbnbservices until they receive a "short-term residential rental registration number" from their town.

Municipalities would be allowed to collect a registration fee of up to $250, half of which would go to the town and the other half to the New Jersey Affordable Housing Trust.

The owner could rent out their property for an unlimitednumber ofdays a year, and amaximumof 30 days in a row per year forwheneverthe owner is not present.

"When we don't have a uniform set of standards set throughout the state, it becomes a mish-mash of different types of regulations,"AssemblywomanValerieVainieriHuttle,D-37thDistrict, the main sponsor, said at the Thursday meeting, pointing to efforts in Newark and towns across Bergen County to each regulate or banAirbnbrentals.

Under theAirbnbbusiness model, any person could rent out all ora portion oftheir place of living to a guest for acertain number ofdays. The practiceis doneonline and allows both parties to bypass the process of booking hotels or motels hence the source of worry for the hospitality industry.

"This certainly is a new wave in the hospitality industry [and] we do not want...