CAPE MAY – The city is moving to enforce its ordinance requiring that short-term rental properties have appropriate mercantile licenses.

City Manager Paul Dietrich told the City Council Aug. 19 that as many as 900 properties have not complied with the requirement for a license, and fines are the next step. Enforcement will begin in the next couple of weeks, he said.

Back in March, Dietrich warned owners of short-term rental properties that they risked fines if they failed to get a license. He offered amnesty to those who had not taken the license requirement seriously. If they paid up, got their license and became current with the ordinance, there would be no additional penalties.

At the same March 4 council meeting, Mayor Zach Mullock reminded property owners that the city had invested in expensive software capable of detecting unlicensed rentals. The message was clear: Get the required license or face fines.

The ordinance sets fines for lack of a mercantile license at $1,000 for a first offense and $2,000 for subsequent offenses.

Dietrich said the city’s Rentalscape software has been able to track short-term rental properties as far back as 2018. He said the city now has the proof needed to enforce the ordinance.

He said he expects there may be some duplications in the numbers, but the software is showing roughly 900 properties in violation of the ordinance.

The city has repeatedly maintained that it is not seeking a new revenue stream. Rather, Mullock and Dietrich say, the goal is safety, as licensed properties must undergo safety inspections.

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