The West Hartford Town Council will be considering an ordinance to address short-term rentals.

Mark Chu, a Farmington residents and principal of Instant Property Solutions LLC, owns a group of homes located from 136-154 Raymond Road which are being used as short-term rentals. Photo credit: Ronni Newton

By Ronni Newton

The Town of West Hartford has never permitted short-term property rentals – at least not overtly – but after a zoning official cited the owner of several Raymond Road properties for violating code and the owner ultimately sued the Zoning Board of Appeals and won, the Town Council will consider allowing, but controlling, STRs.

“The town has long prohibited transient uses of residential property,” Corporation Counsel Dallas Dodge told the Town Council’s Finance & Administration Committee at its meeting on Jan. 5, 2026. The impetus for now discussing a framework for licensing of short-term rentals, however, was a decision made by the Superior Court on a specific case, that is now being appealed by the town.

“The Town of West Hartford continues to believe that short-term rentals are clearly prohibited under its existing zoning regulations and will continue to defend its authority to do so on appeal,” Dodge said in a statement shared with We-Ha.com.

“At the same time, the Town recognizes that the availability of short-term rentals through internet platforms are an evolving issue facing many communities. West Hartford is committed to approaching this issue constructively and is exploring how this use could be permitted in the future with appropriate regulatory guardrails to protect public safety, quality of life, and the availability of housing,” said Dodge.

According to Dodge, state statute permits municipalities to regulate and license short-term rentals.

While the issue has not been publicly discussed in town from a legislative standpoint, there are a plethora of short-term rentals available in West Hartford. A quick check of Airbnb on Thursday, for example, indicates 100 homes available in the area – some for rental of rooms in homes, and others for rental of complete units or entire single-family homes.

Screenshot of Airbnb search for West Hartford, Jan. 8, 2026

Recent legal action

Instant Property Solutions, LLC, whose principal is Mark Chu of Farmington, owns four homes at 136 through 152-154 Raymond Road, an RM-3 (multi-family) zone. After several notices of zoning violation were issued by a town zoning official in late 2023, cease and desist orders were then issued in January 2024, noting that three of the properties (136, 146, and 150) were being used for short-term rentals. West Hartford’s Zoning Board of Appeals, which held a public hearing on the issue in April 2024, upheld the zoning officer’s decision that the STRs were in violation of town code because they are not permitted main or accessory uses of property in any zones in town.

Instant Property Solutions, LLC and Mark S. Chu filed a complaint with the court on May 9, 2024, requesting that the ZBA’s decision be declared null and void, and that Instant Property Solutions be permitted to use their properties for short-term rental purposes. A decision by the Connecticut Superior Court, issued on Oct. 31, 2025 by the Honorable Victoria Chavey, sustained Instant Property Solutions’ appeal and reversed the ZBA’s decision. In rendering that decision, the court in part noted that the town’s existing schedule of permitted accessory uses, which allow “keeping of not more than 3 nontransient roomers or boarders in any dwelling unit,” is ambiguous.

On Dec. 9, 2025, the town filed a petition with the Appellate Court asking for review of the decision of the Oct. 31 decision of the Superior Court.

The properties continue to be used as short-term rentals. While addresses are not shown in the Airbnb listings unless booking is initiated, based on the photograph of the exterior a two-bedroom unit in IPS’s property at 152-154 Raymond Road is currently available for $1,016 for five nights, while the four-bedroom 146 Raymond Road property is available later this month for $1,503 for five nights.

Mark Chu, a Farmington residents and principal of Instant Property Solutions LLC, owns a group of homes located from 136-154 Raymond Road which are being used as short-term rentals. Photo credit: Ronni Newton

Town Council discussion

The Town Council’s Finance & Administration Committee on Monday night reviewed and discussed a first draft of an ordinance that would regulate short-term rentals.

The draft proposed permitting STRs only in zones that allow multi-family residential occupancy, and would require a license with an annual fee of $100 to cover the administration, as well as any possible enforcement costs. The state does not allow a license fee to be a revenue generator, Dodge said.

According to the draft ordinance, conditions for the license would include that the owner is current on taxes and does not have any municipal liens, and adherence to a heightened standard for noise violations similar to the requirements for an entertainment license. The latter is to avoid STRs becoming “party houses,” Dodge said.

The license would not transfer if the property was sold. Violations could trigger an abatement plan, and ultimately a revocation of the license, Dodge said.

Council members voiced a variety of concerns, including the equity issue of limitation of STRs to multi-family zones. Democrat Ben Wenograd said many of the existing short-term rentals are in other zones – and include residents renting a room in their single-family homes.

There was discussion of capping licenses, and Dodge said that would be difficult since it would be first-come, first-served and there is not good data about how many STRs the town already has.

According to Town Planner Todd Dumais, most of the enforcement requests received by the town are regarding properties in single-family zones.

According to Dodge, the majority of properties in town listed on Airbnb are owned by commercial entities, and there is the risk of commercial entities buying up single-family homes.

“Why should we license Airbnbs in our town as opposed to ban them?” asked newly-elected Republican Jason Wang, who wondered why the town isn’t considering an outright ban, and noting that we already have a housing crisis which would not be helped by encouraging STRs which could rent for as much as $500 per night and displace residents.

Dodge said that if the town loses its appeal on the Instant Property Solutions case, any current STRs would be grandfathered as a non-conforming use even if a ban is enacted, but licensing is different and allows for regulation of potential non-conforming uses.

Other Connecticut towns are grappling with these same issues, particularly beach communities. Dumais said there are many communities that believe their code language does not permit STRs, and some towns that have established zoning regulations or licensing.

The Finance & Administration Committee met in executive session to discuss specific strategy and negotiations related to the Instant Property Solutions, LLC case, and when the meeting resumed Deputy Mayor Deb Polun, who chairs the F&A committee, said there would not be any action taken on the ordinance.

Mark Chu, a Farmington residents and principal of Instant Property Solutions LLC, owns a group of homes located from 136-154 Raymond Road which are being used as short-term rentals. Photo credit: Ronni Newton

What’s next?

Town Manager Rick Ledwith confirmed to We-Ha.com that as indicated during the Finance & Administration Committee meeting, the “Ordinance Regulating Short Term Rentals” that was discussed Monday night was just a first draft.

While the Town Council will meet on Tuesday, Jan. 13, an STR ordinance will not be on the agenda for that meeting.

Ledwith said staff is continuing its work on the terms, and an amended version of the ordinance will be discussed at the Town Council’s Community Planning & Economic Development Committee (CPED) meeting on Jan. 21.

It is expected that the Council will then receive the revised ordinance at its Jan. 27 meeting and set it for a public hearing on Feb. 24, and if the hearing is completed they will plan to vote at their meeting later that night.

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