CAPE MAY – The city has taken another step to make sure the owners of short-term rental properties have registered with the city and have had a fire inspection.

The City Council at its March 18 meeting authorized a contract, not to exceed $20,000 for one year, with Deckard Technologies, a company that provides advanced data analytics to detect short-term rentals that have not obtained the required license and inspection.

Deckard advertises itself as the number one short-term rental identification platform for local government tax and compliance teams. The company says its software is used in more than 500 jurisdictions and claims it leads to 40% greater levels of compliance.

The council’s action comes after City Manager Paul Dietrich on March 4 warned property owners that failure to obtain a mercantile license for short-term rental properties would result in punitive action by the city.

“You will be fined,” Dietrich said.

The council had previously established licensing fees to help offset the cost of city services. The council has also required a fire inspection to ensure that properties are inspected and insured.

The problem is that evidence from data platforms that facilitate online renting of short-term rental properties suggests that the city has many more such properties than the number that have been licensed and inspected.

Ironically, the growth of short-term rentals as an addition to tourism options was fueled by the innovative use of technology to allow for direct interactions between landlords and prospective tenants. Now the creative use of technology is helping municipal governments track the existence of such rentals and place them under the umbrella of the town’s regulations.

Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.