Middle’s Mayor Joins Local Chamber Seeking Halt to Short-term Rentals

COURT HOUSE – On a day when the confirmed number of COVID-19 cases in NJ climbed over the 13,000 mark, Middle Township Mayor Timothy Donohue was joined by the Middle Township Chamber of Commerce in a plea for local Realtors and online renters to suspend all short-term rentals beginning April 1.
According to a release, “As the number of cases of the virus skyrocket in North Jersey, Cape May County, and our neighboring counties have seen less than 50 total confirmed cases,” Donohue stated. “We are hearing from Realtors that the request for April and May rentals is far exceeding previous years. It’s obvious these requests are coming from folks in high-risk areas, looking to get away. We are asking our Realtors and those who rent through services like Airbnb, to put the health and welfare of their neighbors first and refuse these rentals for 30 days, beginning April 1.”
After conferring with his colleagues on Township Committee, Donohue reached out to Middle Township Chamber of Commerce President Robert Noel on March 29, seeking the local business community’s support for the pause in short term rentals in the Township. Noel replied that the Chamber supported the Township position “100 percent.”
“I thank the chamber for their timely and unified support of this initiative. All of our residents, especially our small businesses, are making the sacrifices necessary to comply with the governor’s executive orders and slow the spread of the coronavirus,” Donohue stated. “But we can only succeed in this effort if everyone puts the interest of the community first. If we maximize our efforts across a united front now, we will come out of this more quickly and more ready to get back in business for the summer season.”
Township officials will be reaching out to local Realtors, issuing public information and posting notices on the township’s social media platforms, in a concerted effort to call on renters to voluntarily halt short-term leases for the month of April. The township will review the policy as the State of Emergency evolves.
“We call on our neighboring towns to join Middle Township in this sensible and temporary measure to stem the flow of visitors from outside our area at this critical time in the pandemic,” Donohue stated. “We have reached out to the state to confirm whether municipalities can impose a legal ban on short-term rentals. We will keep all of our options open and use every legal tool to protect the 72 square miles we call home.”