BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. (WLOX) – Bay St. Louis is now requiring 472 active short-term rental owners to register their property with the city.

With an occupancy rate of around 55%, the city wants to ensure the safety of these tenants and property owners.

Applications for registration will be available to property owners from mid-September.

The registration fee is $100 and must be paid each year upon renewal.

Bay St. Louis residents are confident that more visitors will come to see what the city has to offer.

Jeremy Burke, Bay St. Louis’ building and zoning administrator, says, “It won’t limit them. We’ll have just as many as we always have. It will just ensure that short-term rentals are handled properly. That will be the most important thing. Bay St. Louis didn’t become an award-winning, thriving Gulf Coast destination overnight. It was built that way and this will be just another ordinance that will help us continue to be a premier destination in the Gulf South.”

Steve Haas, real estate agent with Latter and Blum-Compass, says, “As short-term rental owners for generations, we’ve been really excited. The Bay St. Louis area has always been the destination in the Greater New Orleans area to have a good time, and that continues to be the case. There is no limit to the number of Vrbos, so anyone who currently owns a property or Vrbo can just walk into town and get credentialed.

The city will begin accepting these applications on October 1, but in Bay St. Louis this ordinance will not take effect until early next year.

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