Is a short-term rental actually legal in Conway right now?
Yes, as a matter of zoning. The case is Town of Conway v. Scott Kudrick, which started when Conway sued a local STR owner in Carroll County Superior Court, arguing its "permissive" zoning ordinance banned non-owner-occupied short-term rentals in residential districts because they weren't specifically listed as an allowed use. A Superior Court judge ruled for Kudrick in January 2023, and the town appealed to the NH Supreme Court. On May 2, 2023, a 4-1 majority affirmed: because Conway's ordinance defines a "residential dwelling unit" by what the space provides, sleeping, cooking, eating, and sanitation, and doesn't separately carve out short-term guests, an STR fits that definition and isn't a prohibited use.
Do I still need a permit or license to operate one?
Yes. Following the Kudrick ruling, Conway created a Certificate of Rental Compliance program that applies to every rental property in town, long-term leases included. It requires a life-safety inspection under the town's Housing Standards code, adopted under RSA 48-A, and mandatory for all rental property as of February 1, 2024. The fee schedule from the town's own registration forms: $375 for a single-family home, condo, apartment, or room, valid for three years; $500 for a building with three to eleven units, also valid three years. Voters ratified the program as a warrant article on April 9, 2024, by a vote of 1,004 to 743.
Is the licensing program itself still being fought in court?
Yes, as of this writing. A second lawsuit, filed by a Mount Washington Valley short-term rental owners' association, argues that Conway's rental inspection scheme requires property owners to submit to warrantless searches in order to use their property, which the suit claims exceeds the town's statutory authority and violates both the state and federal constitutions. Kudrick settled only the zoning question; this newer case is about the inspection program itself. Given that two rounds of litigation have already reshaped this program once, treat any specific detail here as something to confirm directly with the town, since it's likely to keep moving.
What happens if I operate without a certificate?
Per the town's own Board of Selectmen minutes, property owners who haven't applied for a Certificate of Rental Compliance receive a notice, and failure to obtain the required documentation results in corrective action. The town's Zoning Enforcement Officer administers the program directly out of Town Hall.
How does Conway compare to how other NH towns handle this?
RSA 674:16 lets each town regulate land use through its own zoning ordinance, which is why STR rules vary so much across the state. Bedford's ordinance, for comparison, added a definition of short-term rentals in 2018 and prohibits them in every zoning district. Candia allows them by special exception in its Residential District, capped at 184 consecutive days. Canterbury permits them by special exception everywhere except its Industrial zone. There's no shortcut here: the town's specific ordinance language is what controls, the way Conway's case turned on the exact wording of its own code.
Conway isn't the only town where the ordinance text matters more than what you'd assume. I'll pull your specific town's actual zoning language and rental licensing requirements before you buy or list.
