Both codes trigger at 50 people, and the Village counts the staff
Chapter 151 applies to assemblies of 50 or more people on residential property in the Town. Chapter 139 applies at 50 or more people at a residence in the Village, and sections 139-2 and 139-5B(8) count invited guests plus staff toward that number. A guest list that stops short of 50 can still cross the line once the caterer's crew is added.
The Town's application page adds a second trigger for residential events: amplified music playing outdoors after 9pm. So a small party with a DJ still running after 9pm needs a Town permit even with fewer than 50 people.
Deadlines: 21 days flat in the Village, 21 to 60 days in the Town
Village section 139-5A says apply no less than 21 days before the event. Town section 151-5(B) scales with headcount.
- 1 to 75 people: 21 days before.
- 76 to 150 people: 30 days before.
- 151 to 250 people: 48 days before.
- 251 or more: 60 days before.
- Miss the Town deadline and a late fee of $100 to $5,000 applies, depending on participant count and applicant type; the per tier amounts are not published in accessible form.
- Village fee amounts are set by Village Board resolution and are not printed in the code at all. Ask both offices for the current schedule.
One paid event a year, or the house is no longer a residence
Section 151-3(A) of the Town Code says that hosting more than one social event or reception per calendar year for a fee at a single family residence is deemed a nonresidential activity. The residential permit route closes after that first paid event. An owner who rents the house for weddings twice in one year is outside the residential category under 151-3(A), and so is the second couple's permit.
The Village takes a different route to a similar place. Section 139-10A(9) lets the Village deny a permit where the frequency of events amounts to a persistent usage incompatible with the property's character. No number is written into that section. It is a judgment call by the Village, made on the record of the property.
Ask the owner, in writing, how many paid events the property has hosted this calendar year and how many permits it has pulled in the last three. If the property has already hosted one paid event this year in the Town, the residential permit route is gone.
Tents: 700 square feet brings in the Fire Marshal, and 14 days is the limit
In the Town, a tent of 700 square feet or more at a residence needs a separate Tent Permit Application to the Fire Marshal under 151-5(A)(20). Any tent on commercial or public property needs one at any size. No tent may stand on a property for more than 14 consecutive days, which sets the window for install and strike.
In the Village, tents go through a separate application to Code Enforcement under 139-5B(6). A square footage threshold for the Village is not published in the sections we read. Ask Code Enforcement what triggers the application.
Parking on the street can turn a residential permit into a commercial one
The Town application under 151-5(A)(15) and (16) must state anticipated vehicle counts, off site parking locations and their sizes, and a traffic management plan. If guests will park on public streets because the property cannot hold the cars, the event needs a Commercial Special Event Permit rather than a residential one. Under 151-6(A) the Chief of Police can require officers, billed to the applicant as a traffic control fee.
The Village asks for the vehicle count and off site locations under 139-5B(13), and inadequate parking is an explicit ground for denial under 139-10A(12).
A shuttle from a lot outside the neighborhood is the usual answer, and the application is where it gets written down. Ask the transportation company for the lot address and its capacity so the permit application can name it. The Knot's Long Island region listed 57 transportation vendors on 3 September 2026, a marketplace figure, so there are companies to ask.
Insurance: $2,000,000 per occurrence in the Town, none for a private property in the Village
Section 151-16, amended 19 March 2026, requires $2,000,000 per occurrence naming the Town as additional insured, with indemnification. The Village's 139-8C requires $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, but only for public property and parade permits. A private estate wedding in the Village has no code mandated coverage; the owner's lease may ask for its own.
Fines match. Town section 151-20 sets a first offense at $500 to $2,000. A second within three years is $1,000 to $5,000. A third or more within three years is $2,500 to $15,000. Village section 139-19 lists the same three ranges.
The checklist we would run before signing an estate rental
Every item below has a section number behind it. Bring the list to the owner and to the Special Events office.
- Confirm in writing which code governs the address, Town Chapter 151 or Village Chapter 139.
- Get the headcount including staff, because the Village counts them under 139-5B(8).
- Count back from the date: 21 days in the Village, and 21, 30, 48 or 60 days in the Town under 151-5(B).
- Ask how many paid events the house has hosted this calendar year; a second one is nonresidential under 151-3(A).
- Get the tent's square footage from the rental company; 700 square feet or more means the Fire Marshal under 151-5(A)(20), and the tent cannot stand more than 14 days.
- Write the parking plan with vehicle counts and an off site lot, because street parking triggers a Commercial permit in the Town.
- Order a certificate of insurance at $2,000,000 per occurrence naming the Town under 151-16 if the property is in the Town.
- Tell the Town if amplified music will run past 9pm, and ask the Village what its permit condition under 139-11B will allow.
- Find out who the applicant of record is, since the fines under 151-20 and 139-19 run to $15,000.
- Ask both offices for the current fee schedule, since neither publishes it in the code.
Sources: East Hampton Town Code Chapter 151, Special Events · East Hampton Town, Special Event Applications page · East Hampton Village Code Chapter 139, Special Events
Rules read on 3 September 2026. Codes change; confirm with the issuing office before you sign anything.
