Strict rental rules are temporarily being changed in the Town of Southampton to accommodate visitors to the U.S. Open Golf Championship in June. "It's going to be a zoo. There's no question about it," says John, a Southampton resident. Right now, homeowners in the town of Southampton can't rent their properties for less than two weeks.        But the town board just temporarily changed that to just three days during the golf championship, which is scheduled for June 18-21.

The board also did something similar for the championship in 2018. "It opens up more housing opportunity within the town," says the town's Director of Public Safety Ryan Murphy. Town officials are hoping this temporary change will also help with traffic coming in and out of the town and boost local businesses. "If people can't stay locally, then they're going to have to commute back and forth from someplace else every single day," says Murphy. Some residents agree. "We have to loosen up on some of the things. Who are you hurting by letting somebody rent out a room for three days. It's bringing money into the town," says John. Others have concerns about traffic and overcrowding. "Especially at that time frame, I think it's June, it would be hard," says Joe Langdon, who works in Southampton. "I would probably be inclined to keep that at two weeks."