Summer House, which follows a group of friends spending summer in the Hamptons, recently premiered its eighth season of the reality show. The first episode glazed over a big issue that had come up the previous summer, a problem not so unheard of in the Hamptons — illegal bedrooms in a shared house.
Just days before filming began in the Water Mill residence for the 2022 summer season, Southampton Town officials discovered there were more bedrooms than there were supposed to be. The film permit application differed from the 6,500-square-foot home’s Certificate of Occupancy and rental permit regarding the bedroom count at 2136 Deerfield Road.
There were nine bedrooms in the $5 million house that has been used in recent seasons for the cast of typically 10. However, there were only supposed to be five bedrooms. After an order was issued, the owners converted the illegal bedrooms back to common living spaces, including a gym and a sitting area and the summer of filming went off without a hitch.
Season 7 of Summer House premiered in February of 2023, and another summer of filming took place during the summer of 2023 and is airing now.
Ryan J. Murphy, the Town Code Compliance & Emergency Management Administrator, confirmed there have been no issues since.
“After that was issued I have not been made aware of any complaints or issues associated with the property or Summer House activities,” he told Behind The Hedges in an email after Labor Day 2023, when the season wrapped up.
“Even last year, although there were a few bumps in the road right before filming (which were more to do with the layout of the house than anything else), they were quite cooperative and didn’t have any issues at the property. If they keep up with the trend of no complaints or issues, we’re quite happy to continue having them visit, and spend time in, the Town,” he said at the time.
When the cast arrived for the July Fourth weekend last summer, they remarked on a few changes to the house — new sod, new rugs and a new partial wall where one of the bedrooms used to be.
“We rezoned it to be however many bedrooms this is,” cast member Danielle Olivera remarked as she walked by the room, which now has a bar.
The only discussion about the bedroom count was with regards to Amanda Batula telling newbie West Wilson that he could take one of the two open bedrooms on the second floor or stay on the first floor. There are supposed to be four bedrooms on the second floor and one on the first floor.
Wilson chose the first-floor digs, but after one night moved upstairs, complaining about the temperature of the room.
Just because there are no zoning kerfuffles this year, doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of drama, of course. The summer shenanigans will all lead up to Carl Radke and Lindsay Hubbard’s break-up, just weeks before they were set to walk down the aisle.
Summer House airs every Thursday at 9 p.m. on Bravo and then is available for streaming the next day on Peacock.
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