Ellicottville STR Rules: Town Desk, Village Clerk, 375 Cap

Ellicottville's short-term rental rules are not a single ordinance. The Town of Ellicottville runs its own local law with a numeric cap on permits, and the Village of Ellicottville runs a separate ordinance under a different clerk's office. A parcel's mailing address does not tell a host or buyer which of the two actually applies.

This confusion matters because the two files carry different requirements, different fees, and different contact numbers. Treating them as interchangeable, or assuming a Village address means Village rules, is the single most common mistake hosts make when they first look into permitting here.

Everything below reflects Town Local Law 1-2025, the Village ordinance, and the AirROI-sourced performance figures already published on Crest & Cove for this market. No new fees or caps have been added beyond what that page already documents. This is not legal advice.

Confirm Town, Village, or Both Before You File

Before submitting any paperwork, confirm whether a specific parcel sits within the Town of Ellicottville or the Village of Ellicottville, since the two jurisdictions run separate short-term rental frameworks. A mailing address that reads Ellicottville, New York, does not settle this question on its own.

The clean way to confirm jurisdiction is to check the parcel against the assessor's map layer for Town versus Village boundaries, then print that confirmation into a deal file or permit application, rather than relying on an assumption carried over from a neighboring property.

Some properties may fall under both frameworks depending on annexation history, which is exactly why this step comes first, before any fee is paid or any application is submitted.

Real estate listing descriptions and neighbor conversations are not reliable sources for this determination either, since both frequently repeat a jurisdiction assumption that turns out to be wrong once checked against the actual parcel map. Treat the assessor's boundary layer as the only source that settles the question.

Town Local Law 1-2025 Is the Town File

Town Local Law 1-2025 governs short-term rentals for parcels within the Town of Ellicottville outside the incorporated Village. It sets an annual short-term rental permit requirement, with a fee ranging from $75 to $200 depending on unit size.

The Town law is not a safety inspection regime and does not carry a $1,000 fine as its enforcement mechanism; hosts should not assume the penalty structure from a different jurisdiction's ordinance applies here without checking the actual Town code language directly.

Because this is a Town-specific file, any renewal deadline or inspection requirement tied to it applies only to Town parcels, not to Village-jurisdiction properties operating under the separate Village ordinance.

The Village Ordinance Is a Second, Separate Desk

The Village of Ellicottville maintains its own short-term rental ordinance, administered through the Village Clerk's office rather than the Town Desk. A host operating inside the Village limits needs to work through this separate desk, even if a neighboring Town parcel a block away follows a different process entirely.

Village rules do not automatically extend onto a Town lot just because the two jurisdictions share a name and a downtown core. Confirming the correct clerk's office before filing avoids submitting an application to the wrong desk and losing time to a resubmission.

Buyers evaluating a property specifically for its short-term rental potential should call the Village Clerk directly if the parcel sits inside Village limits, rather than relying on a general assumption drawn from a Town-focused conversation.

Three Hundred Seventy-Five Is the Town Cap

The Town of Ellicottville's local law sets a numeric cap of 375 permits available under its short-term rental framework. This cap is a Town-specific limit; it does not describe Village capacity, and a host should not assume Village availability mirrors the Town's cap structure.

A cap like this means permit availability is a real, finite consideration for a buyer evaluating a Town parcel, not merely a formality. Confirming current permit availability against the 375 ceiling, rather than assuming a slot is guaranteed, is worth doing before closing on a purchase intended for short-term rental use.

This is also why AirROI Low, a market-performance signal, should never be read as evidence about permit availability. A quiet market and a full permit cap are two separate facts that happen to coexist in the same town.

AirROI Low Is Not the License Stack

Ellicottville's published AirROI figures show roughly $26,763 in annual revenue across 58 tracked listings, an ADR near $388, occupancy around 30.1 percent, and RevPAR near $124, for the vintage window running August 2025 through July 2026. Those numbers describe market performance, not permitting status.

A host or investor should never read a Low or soft-performance signal from AirROI as evidence that permitting is easy, that a hall walk is unnecessary, or that the published market year should be adjusted upward to look more favorable. Low describes bookings activity; it says nothing about the Town cap or the Village ordinance.

Keep these two categories of fact, market performance and permitting law, on separate lines in any underwriting file, and label the AirROI vintage window clearly whenever it is cited alongside a permit or cap discussion.

Buyers who blend the two often end up with a deal memo that reads more optimistic than reality supports, since a soft market reading gets quietly interpreted as regulatory headroom that the actual Town cap may not confirm.

Call the Desk That Matches the Driveway

Once jurisdiction is confirmed, the practical next step is a direct call to the correct desk: Town Desk for a Town parcel, the Village Clerk for a Village parcel. Each office can confirm current fee amounts, cap availability, and any pending changes to the local law or ordinance that have not yet reached a public summary.

Hosts who skip this call and instead rely on a secondhand summary, a real estate listing description, or a forum post risk filing against outdated fee figures or missing a recent amendment to either the Town or Village framework.

A short call that confirms the correct desk, the current fee, and whether the Town's 375-permit cap has room available is a small investment relative to the cost of discovering a mismatch after a purchase has already closed.

Buyers working with a lender or a closing attorney should ask that professional to note the confirmed jurisdiction and cap status directly in the closing file, so the confirmation survives beyond a phone call that no one wrote down.

What This Page Will Not Do

This page does not replace a direct call to Town Desk or the Village Clerk, and it does not substitute for confirming the assessor's jurisdiction layer for a specific parcel. Fee amounts and cap numbers can change, and only the originating office can confirm the current figure with certainty.

It also will not extend a Buffalo-area contact radius or apply a rule from a neighboring county onto Ellicottville's specific Town or Village frameworks. Each municipality in this region sets its own short-term rental terms, and borrowing a rule from a different town risks filing against the wrong requirement entirely.

The goal here is narrower: give a host or buyer the two-jurisdiction structure, the Town's cap and fee range, and the reminder to confirm which desk actually governs a given driveway before submitting anything. Treat that confirmation as the first task on any Ellicottville short-term rental checklist, not an afterthought handled once an application has already been drafted.

Related Reading

More Ellicottville, New York reading already live on Crest & Cove.

• Ellicottville STR Report 2026: $26,763 on 58 listings

• Market an Ellicottville Stay: Ski, July, Not Buffalo

• Ellicottville Shoulder Season: January Peak, March Hole

• Ellicottville Remote Stays: Seven listings Set 30-Plus

• DIY vs Hire in Ellicottville: EVL, Not Realty listing stock

• Who Books an Ellicottville Rental: Ski Week, July Walk

• Buying an Ellicottville Rental: $26,763, Not Inspector T12

• Ellicottville Tourism Data: Holiday Valley Is Not Occupancy

• Complete Visitor's Guide to Ellicottville, New York

• What It Costs to Start a Legal Ellicottville NY STR

• Financing an Ellicottville Rental Without a Costume Year

• Ellicottville Town vs Village: Two STR Permit Desks

• Does an Ellicottville STR Permit Transfer on a Sale

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Ellicottville have one short-term rental ordinance or two?

Two. The Town of Ellicottville runs Local Law 1-2025, and the Village of Ellicottville runs a separate ordinance administered by the Village Clerk. A parcel's jurisdiction, not its mailing address, determines which one applies.

How much does the Town of Ellicottville short-term rental permit cost?

The Town's annual permit fee ranges from $75 to $200 depending on unit size, under Local Law 1-2025. This fee applies to Town-jurisdiction parcels; Village-jurisdiction properties follow the separate Village ordinance's fee structure instead.

Is there a limit on how many short-term rental permits the Town issues?

Yes. The Town's local law sets a cap of 375 permits. This is a Town-specific limit and does not describe availability under the separate Village ordinance, so confirming current cap room is worth doing before a purchase intended for short-term rental use.

Does a $1,000 fine apply to Ellicottville short-term rental violations?

Do not assume so. The Town's local law is not built around a safety-inspection regime carrying a $1,000 penalty as its default enforcement mechanism. Confirm actual penalty language directly with Town Desk rather than assuming a figure from another jurisdiction's code applies here.

How do I know if my Ellicottville property is Town or Village jurisdiction?

Check the parcel against the assessor's Town-versus-Village boundary layer, then confirm with the relevant clerk's office. A mailing address alone does not determine jurisdiction, and some properties may have annexation history that makes this check especially important.

What does Ellicottville's AirROI data actually show?

Roughly $26,763 in annual revenue across 58 tracked listings, an ADR near $388, occupancy around 30.1 percent, and RevPAR near $124, for the vintage window from August 2025 through July 2026. This describes market performance, not permitting availability or ease.

Does a quiet AirROI signal mean permitting is easier in Ellicottville?

No. Market performance and permitting law are separate facts. A soft AirROI reading says nothing about whether the Town's 375-permit cap has room or what the Village ordinance requires. Never use one to infer the other.

Who should I call to confirm current fees and cap availability?

Call Town Desk for a Town-jurisdiction parcel or the Village Clerk's office for a Village-jurisdiction parcel. Each office can confirm the current fee, cap room, and any recent amendments that have not yet reached a public summary.

Work with Crest & Cove Creative

Assuming an Ellicottville mailing address settles Town-versus-Village jurisdiction is how buyers end up filing at the wrong desk and losing time to a resubmission. Name the failure mode the guest can check on the listing.

We help hosts and buyers confirm which Ellicottville desk actually governs a parcel and translate the Town cap and Village ordinance into plain listing-ready language. Send your parcel details and we will tell you what to verify before you file.

Reach out at crestcove.co or (256) 998-7502.