The government has launched a registration portal for those who own short-term rentals to register their businesses, in an effort to ensure high standards of service across vacation rentals and to ensure those owners are meeting their tax obligations, a statement released yesterday by the Department of Inland Revenue (DIR) explained.

According to the statement, short-term vacation rental owners will have until the end of April to register their properties through a new portal on the DIR's website.

Registration on the portal begins today, and the DIR is targeting the registration of more than 10,000 properties.

The statement explained that for the moment, registering a property will not cost an owner anything, including business license fees. The DIR said the free registration is being done to encourage the most people to register their rental businesses.

"Registrants will be required to provide their name, detailed location of the property, real property tax assessment number, and other relevant details when registering on the portal," the statement said.

"To encourage industry compliance, registration is free for the remainder of the year, along with no associated business license fee."

Acting Controller of the DIR Shunda Strachan said in the statement that thousands of short-term rental owners are operating according to different standards, as well as engaging in the unregulated renting of cars and boats.

"There is a great need to regulate the short-term vacation rentals industry," said Strachan.

"We also have property managers overseeing properties without business licenses. These unregulated activities are circumventing tax obligations and having a negative impact on the local tourism market."

Strachan said the move to register all vacation rentals will "facilitate the maturation of the industry".

She also explained how important a role vacation rentals play in improving the country's room inventory.

"We must strike a balance between regulation and fostering growth," she said.

"Our immediate objective is to identify up to 10,000-plus short-term vacation rental properties throughout The Bahamas. This can be done through the simple act of registering, which will enable us to move forward with our plans to strengthen and promote the industry."

The DIR said in the statement that once the registration is approved, those owners will be able to apply for funding through entities like the Small Business Development Centre, Bahamas Entrepreneurial Venture Fund, and Tourism Development Corporation.

The statement added that the government is also looking into how it can highlight those registrants in the domestic and international tourism markets "as official short-term vacation rental providers".

"We are asking the public to assist us in regulating this industry by complying willingly," said Strachan.

"Ultimately, as a result of these efforts, we will have more uniform standards, more consistent vacation rental experiences, expanded opportunities for property owners, increased government revenues from previously uncaptured sources, and an improved tourism product.

"If you are a property owner, it is in your best interest to register your vacation rental properties as soon as possible."

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