Kempton STR Rules: Albany Township Has No Walk-In Office

A dedicated short-term rental ordinance for Albany Township, which covers Kempton, Pennsylvania, is not confirmed as of this research pass. That's an honest gap, not a claim that no rule exists, and it's a meaningfully different situation than either a confirmed permit requirement or a confirmed absence of one. Secretary and Treasurer Michele Morstatt is the actual person to call, at (610) 756-6452, P.O. Box 197.

This page covers what is and isn't confirmed about Albany Township's approach to short-term rentals, where the county clerk's office fits in, and why an empty spot on a data extract is not the same thing as an ordinance. It is not legal advice; call ahead and confirm current requirements directly before advertising a specific compliance claim. This is not legal advice.

Confirm you are in Albany Township first

Before treating any part of this page as applicable to your property, confirm the parcel actually sits in Albany Township rather than Hamburg Borough or Windsor Township, which are separate desks with potentially different rules. A shared 19529 ZIP code covers more than one township, and a shared ridge or shared search string is not evidence of a shared ordinance.

This confirmation step comes before any other action, because acting on Albany Township guidance for a Hamburg Borough parcel means acting on information that simply doesn't apply.

Dedicated permit status is not confirmed this pass

As of this research pass, whether Albany Township has a dedicated short-term rental permit or ordinance is not confirmed either way. Do not let an empty data field stand in for a settled legal answer, and do not assume the absence of an easily found rule means no rule exists.

The honest position here is uncertainty, not a claim in either direction. A host operating in Albany Township should treat this as an open question to resolve directly with the township, not as a green light or a red light inferred from an incomplete research pass.

There is no walk-in township office

Albany Township does not have a staffed office to visit during posted hours. All township business, including any question about short-term rental requirements, goes through Secretary and Treasurer Michele Morstatt by phone at (610) 756-6452, with mail to P.O. Box 197, Kempton.

Call ahead rather than planning an in-person visit expecting an open desk. This is the actual path to an answer, however the answer turns out.

The county clerk sits on Court Street, and it is records

The Berks County Clerk of Courts sits at 633 Court Street, 4th Floor, Reading, PA 19601. This office is not a licensing or permit window; it handles records. Do not treat Court Street as a place to resolve a short-term rental permitting question, and do not treat the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary's visitor line as a township contact either; those are different functions entirely.

If a search leads to the county clerk's office while researching Albany Township STR rules, that office can direct a records request but is not the authority on whether a township-level ordinance exists.

Hamburg is a different desk, and Reading is a different city

Reading prints its own market figure, $11,474 on a 79-listing sample, and Pottsville prints $17,715 on a Schuylkill County sample. Both are real, labeled figures for real, different cities, and neither should be applied to an Albany Township or Kempton parcel, which is a separate, smaller, more rural desk entirely.

If a parcel actually sits on the Hamburg Borough side rather than the Albany Township side, that's a genuinely different township desk with potentially different rules, and the answer for one does not transfer to the other.

An empty market extract is not an ordinance

The absence of a peak-season or shoulder-season figure on a market data extract for this small township is a data gap, not evidence about the legal status of short-term rentals there. Do not treat an empty market on a revenue report as though it answered a permitting question; those are two unrelated categories of information.

Call ahead before promising a guest, a buyer, or a marketing audience any specific claim about Albany Township's short-term rental status. Confirm directly with Michele Morstatt what is and isn't currently required, and treat that confirmation, dated, as the actual answer rather than an inference from missing data.

Related Reading

Related reading for Kempton hosts: same-town spine first, then nearby geo lines. Skip costume national dumps that do not underwrite this driveway.

• Kempton Pa STR market report

• How to market a Kempton stay

• What it costs to start in What It Actually Costs

• Buying a Kempton rental

• DIY vs hire marketing in Kempton

• Who books a Kempton rental

• Financing a Kempton rental

• Kempton Remote Worker 30 remote-worker stays

• Kempton Shoulder No Town shoulder season

• Kempton Tourism Data Str tourism data for hosts

• Visitors guide: Kempton

• Kempton Albany Township Str

• Kempton Vs Hamburg Ridge

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Albany Township have a confirmed short-term rental ordinance?

This research pack could not confirm one either way, and that gap is the single most important thing to close before you list. Treat it as an open question rather than assuming a yes or a no in either direction. An unconfirmed status is not the same as a green light, and it is not the same as a ban. Call the township directly and get a current, dated answer before you publish anything.

Who handles Albany Township business?

Secretary/Treasurer Michele Morstatt handles township business, reachable by mail at Post Office Box 197, Kempton. There is no daily-staffed counter to walk into; correspondence runs through that mailing address instead. Township meetings are held at Kempton Fire Company rather than at a government office. Plan on a phone call or written inquiry rather than an in-person visit.

Can I call the Berks County Clerk of Courts about STR permits?

No. That office, located at 633 Court Street, 4th Floor, Reading, PA 19601, handles county-level records and is not a township permitting desk. It will not have an answer to whether Albany Township has a dedicated short-term rental ordinance. If you need a permitting answer, the Secretary/Treasurer's office is the correct first call, not the county courthouse.

Does Hamburg's process apply to my Albany Township parcel?

No. Hamburg is a separate borough with its own permitting process, and it sits close enough geographically that it's an easy mix-up to make. Do not assume a Hamburg answer transfers to an Albany Township parcel just because the two are neighbors. Confirm which jurisdiction actually covers your specific address using the tax map before applying any rule discussed here.

Can I use Reading's revenue figure for a Kempton listing?

No. Reading posted $11,474 in typical annual short-term rental revenue, but that figure belongs to Reading's own city market and file, not to Albany Township or Kempton. Citing it on a Kempton-area listing would misrepresent what that specific property or area is actually earning. Keep city-level and township-level figures separate rather than borrowing a nearby number that sounds close enough.

Can I use Pottsville's revenue figure for a Kempton listing?

No. Pottsville posted $17,715 in typical annual revenue, and that number describes a separate Schuylkill County jurisdiction, not Albany Township or Kempton. It is a different county entirely, not just a different town nearby. Leave that figure on Pottsville's own file rather than presenting it as evidence of what a Kempton-area rental can expect to earn.

Does a low AirROI listing count in this area prove there's no ordinance?

No. A thin or empty listing count in an AirROI-style scrape measures how much short-term rental activity is currently visible in the market, not the regulatory status of that market. Few tracked listings could mean low demand, low supply, or simply a market that hasn't been discovered yet. It says nothing one way or the other about whether an ordinance exists, so don't treat it as evidence.

What should I do before advertising a short-term rental near Kempton?

Call the Albany Township Secretary/Treasurer's office directly and get a current, dated answer on permit requirements before you publish a listing anywhere. Confirm your specific parcel actually sits within Albany Township rather than a neighboring jurisdiction like Hamburg, using the tax map as the authoritative source. Don't rely on an old post, a neighboring town's rule, or an assumption based on ZIP code. A dated, direct answer is the only reliable starting point.

Work with Crest & Cove Creative

An empty spot on a market data extract for Albany Township is a data gap, not confirmation that short-term rentals are unregulated there. Name the failure mode the guest can check on the listing.

Crest & Cove Creative treats unconfirmed township rules as an open question to resolve directly, not as a green light inferred from missing data. Name the failure mode the guest can check on the listing. Send the live listing draft and the facts you can actually cite.

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