# Short-term rental rules in Boston, MA - Status: **HEAVILY REGULATED** - Last verified: 2026-07-17 (every legal claim checked against the official sources listed below) - Canonical page: https://strwatch.ai/boston-ma/ ## Summary Boston permits short-term rentals (stays under 28 consecutive days) only for owner-occupants of their primary residence, under the 2018 Short-Term Residential Rentals ordinance (Boston Municipal Code ch. 9-14, effective January 1, 2019). Investor-owned, absentee, and tenant-operated units are ineligible: an Operator must be the owner and reside in the unit at least nine of twelve months. Three unit types are allowed, each up to 365 days/year: Limited Share (a room in the owner's occupied primary residence, hosted; max 6 guests, $25/yr), Home Share (the owner's whole primary-residence unit while away; max 10 guests, $200/yr), and Owner-Adjacent (a second unit in an owner-occupied two- or three-family building; $200/yr). Registration with the Inspectional Services Department (ISD) is mandatory (BMC 9-14.6), operators must carry $1,000,000 liability insurance (G.L. c. 175 s. 4F) unless the platform provides equal coverage, and units subject to affordability covenants, leasing prohibitions, or Problem-Property status are ineligible (BMC 9-14.4A). Fines are $300/day for offering an ineligible unit and $100/day for operating unregistered (BMC 9-14.9). Booking agents (platforms) must sign data-sharing/enforcement agreements with the City, de-list unregistered or ineligible units, and report monthly, or be barred from doing business in Boston (BMC 9-14.10, 9-14.11). A Boston STR guest pays roughly 14.95% in room-occupancy taxes (5.7% state + 6.5% Boston local option + 2.75% Convention Center fee), rising to ~17.95% where the 3% Community Impact Fee applies (owner-adjacent 2-3 family units and operators with multiple units); platforms collect and remit these under G.L. c. 64G. ## At a glance - Unhosted whole-home rental: Conditional - Hosted rental (host present): Yes - Primary residence required: Yes - Guest cap: 10 guests - Rules apply to stays under: 28 days Notes: Whole-home unhosted rental is allowed ONLY where the unit is the owner-operator's primary residence (Home Share Unit, BMC 9-14.2/9-14.5(c), max 5 bedrooms or 10 guests, whichever is fewer) or is a single Owner-Adjacent Unit in an owner-occupied two- or three-family dwelling all owned by the same owner-occupant (9-14.5(d)). Investor/absentee whole-home rentals are prohibited. Hosted rental is a Limited Share Unit: a portion of the owner's occupied primary residence while the Operator is present, max 3 bedrooms or 6 guests (whichever is fewer), one bedroom reserved for the Operator (9-14.2). Primary Residence = Operator resides there at least 9 of 12 months, proven by 2+ documents (utility bill, voter/motor-vehicle registration, deed, lease, driver's license, or residential-exemption proof) (9-14.2). Short-Term Rental is defined as occupancy for fewer than 28 consecutive days (9-14.2); stays of 28+ days fall outside the ordinance. Note the state room-occupancy tax uses a 31-day threshold (rentals of 31+ consecutive days are exempt from the excise, G.L. c. 64G). Furnished institutional/business stays with a minimum of 10 days are not treated as short-term rentals (9-14.4B(d)). Only one owner may register as Operator per unit, and an Operator may offer only one whole-unit listing at a time (9-14.5). ## Requirements ### Short-Term Rental Registration (Inspectional Services Department) (registration) - Authority: City of Boston Inspectional Services Department (ISD) - Cost: $25/year (Limited Share Unit); $200/year (Home Share Unit); $200/year (Owner-Adjacent Unit) - Renewal: Annual; valid one-year term January 1 - December 31 (BMC 9-14.6(a)) - Official source: https://www.boston.gov/sites/default/files/document-file-08-2018/short-term_rental_ordinance.pdf - Notes: BMC 9-14.6(b): Limited Share $25.00; Home Share $200.00; Owner-Adjacent $200.00. Operator must be the owner, certify primary residence and unit eligibility, and provide 24/7 local-contact info able to respond in person within 2 hours if the operator is absent (9-14.5(f)). Registration is tied to both the unit and the operator and does not transfer on sale; new owners must re-register (9-14.6(c)). Registration number must appear on every listing. Confirmed current on boston.gov ISD Short-Term Rentals page (accessed 2026-07-17). ### Liability insurance (insurance) - Authority: Commonwealth of Massachusetts (G.L. c. 175 s. 4F) - Cost: Minimum $1,000,000 coverage per short-term rental (premium varies) - Renewal: Must be maintained continuously while operating - Official source: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXXII/Chapter175/Section4F - Notes: Operator must maintain liability insurance of not less than $1,000,000 to defend and indemnify the operator and any tenants/owners in the building for bodily injury and property damage arising from the short-term rental, UNLESS the rental is offered through a hosting platform that maintains equal or greater coverage (G.L. c. 175 s. 4F). ### Business certificate (DBA) with City Clerk (license) - Authority: City of Boston City Clerk - Cost: not verified - Official source: https://www.boston.gov/departments/inspectional-services/short-term-rentals - Notes: Boston.gov ISD Short-Term Rentals page lists obtaining a business certificate from the City Clerk among host obligations. Fee/renewal not stated on the STR page; set null pending verification of the City Clerk business-certificate schedule. ### Abutter notification (other) - Authority: City of Boston Inspectional Services Department (ISD) - Cost: not verified - Official source: https://www.boston.gov/sites/default/files/document-file-08-2018/short-term_rental_ordinance.pdf - Notes: Within 30 days of approved registration, the Operator must notify abutters (any residential dwelling within 300 feet) that the unit has been registered as a short-term rental, and must post interior signage showing fire-extinguisher/exit/alarm locations (BMC 9-14.5(j)). ## Taxes - **State room occupancy excise**: 5.7% (5% statutory base plus 0.7% surtax) — applies to Rent for short-term rentals of 31 or fewer consecutive days; platform collects: yes. Source: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleIX/Chapter64G/Section3 - **Boston local option room occupancy excise**: 6.5% — applies to Rent for short-term rentals located in Boston; platform collects: yes. Source: https://dls-gw.dor.state.ma.us/reports/rdpage.aspx?rdreport=localoptions.room_tax_impact_fee - **Convention Center Financing fee**: 2.75% — applies to Rent for room occupancy (incl. short-term rentals) in Boston, Cambridge, Springfield, Worcester, West Springfield, Chicopee; platform collects: yes. Source: https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/server/api/core/bitstreams/31bf150d-1fdd-415d-9497-d4a8f5224fa0/content - **Community Impact Fee (short-term rentals)**: 3% — applies to Short-term rentals in Boston that are owner-occupied two- or three-family units, or where the operator has 2+ STR units in Boston (professionally managed); platform collects: yes. Source: https://dls-gw.dor.state.ma.us/reports/rdpage.aspx?rdreport=localoptions.room_tax_impact_fee ## Enforcement - Penalties: BMC 9-14.9: offering an ineligible unit as a short-term rental (or a booking agent accepting a fee for one) is fined $300 per violation per day (9-14.9(a)); operating an eligible unit without registering, or while registration is suspended, is fined $100 per violation per day (9-14.9(b)); failure to comply with a notice of violation is $100 per violation per day (9-14.9(c)). Each day is a separate violation. Enforced via the M.G.L. c. 40 s. 21D noncriminal disposition process and the M.G.L. c. 40U 'Green Ticket' law (9-14.10(a)); the Commissioner may also seek an injunction. - Platform liability: Booking agents (platforms) must enter agreements with the City to remove listings that exceed day limits, are ineligible, or lack a valid City registration number; any booking agent that fails to enter such an agreement is prohibited from conducting business in Boston (BMC 9-14.10(b)). Booking agents must file monthly electronic reports of Boston listings, including location, room-vs-whole-unit, and nights occupied (BMC 9-14.11). Under G.L. c. 64G, the booking agent/intermediary collects and remits room-occupancy taxes. - Notes: Ineligible units (BMC 9-14.4A): below-market/income-restricted units or those under affordability covenants; units where law prohibits leasing/subletting; units in 'Problem Properties' or 'Public Nuisance Properties' (or owned by owners of such properties); and units with 3+ violations of ch. 9-14 in six months or 3+ nuisance-type violations in six months. Units with outstanding building/sanitary/zoning/fire violations have registration suspended until cured (9-14.5(g)). Lodging houses and bed-and-breakfasts holding valid ISD certificates as of the ordinance's effective date must register but are exempt from the 9-14.5 unit limits (9-14.4B). ISD files an annual report with the City Clerk (Section 2 of the ordinance). ## Pending changes - No material substantive amendment to Boston ch. 9-14 identified for 2024-2026; ISD registration framework and fees ($25/$200/$200) remain in force. Boston University Initiative on Cities published a November 2025 study on STR regulation, compliance, and housing impact, informing ongoing council discussion but not itself a rule change. (proposed, 2025-11-07) — https://www.bu.edu/ioc/2025/11/07/short-term-rentals-in-boston-regulation-compliance-and-impact/ ## Not yet verified (we say so instead of guessing) - State room occupancy excise stated as 5.7%: the fetched statute (G.L. c. 64G s. 3) codifies a 5% base rate; the additional 0.7% is an uncodified surtax cited by MA DOR (TIR materials) but not present in the fetched statute text. The 5.7% figure is corroborated by MA DOR TIR 01-15 (archives.lib.state.ma.us). mass.gov/info-details/room-occupancy-excise-tax returned HTTP 403 to non-interactive fetch and could not be captured directly. - Community Impact Fee (3%) applicability to Boston STRs is verified via the MA DOR/DLS local-options report (Boston adopted at 3%, eff. 7/1/2019, with both the professionally-managed and owner-occupied 2-3 family options marked 'Yes'). The precise statutory scope is G.L. c. 64G s. 3D; that specific section text was not separately fetched. - Business certificate (DBA) requirement is listed on the boston.gov ISD Short-Term Rentals page but its fee and renewal terms were not verified against the City Clerk's fee schedule; cost/renewal set to null. - State DOR operator registration in the Massachusetts STR registry (via MassTaxConnect) is generally required under G.L. c. 64G but was not captured as a separate requirement because the mass.gov registration page returned HTTP 403; platforms typically register/remit on operators' behalf. - Convention Center Financing fee's application to short-term rentals is inferred: the fee is administered as a tax under c. 64G (per TIR 01-15) and c. 64G was extended to short-term rentals effective 7/1/2019; TIR 01-15 predates the STR law and does not itself mention STRs. ## Sources - An Ordinance Allowing Short-Term Residential Rentals in the City of Boston (BMC ch. 9-14, full text PDF) (official, accessed 2026-07-17): https://www.boston.gov/sites/default/files/document-file-08-2018/short-term_rental_ordinance.pdf - Short-Term Rentals - City of Boston Inspectional Services Department (official, accessed 2026-07-17): https://www.boston.gov/departments/inspectional-services/short-term-rentals - M.G.L. c. 64G s. 3 - Room occupancy excise (5% base rate) (official, accessed 2026-07-17): https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleIX/Chapter64G/Section3 - M.G.L. c. 64G s. 3A - Local option excise (Boston up to 6.5%) (official, accessed 2026-07-17): https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleIX/Chapter64G/Section3A - M.G.L. c. 175 s. 4F - Short-term rental $1,000,000 liability insurance (official, accessed 2026-07-17): https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXXII/Chapter175/Section4F - MA DOR/DLS - Room Tax & Impact Fee Effective Dates & Rates (Boston: 6.5% local excise + 3% community impact fee, eff. 7/1/2019) (official, accessed 2026-07-17): https://dls-gw.dor.state.ma.us/reports/rdpage.aspx?rdreport=localoptions.room_tax_impact_fee - MA DOR TIR 01-15 - Convention Center Financing 2.75% fee on room occupancy (St. 1997, c. 152; administered under c. 64G) (official, accessed 2026-07-17): https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/server/api/core/bitstreams/31bf150d-1fdd-415d-9497-d4a8f5224fa0/content - Councilors vote to pass amended short-term rental ordinance - Boston.gov (news) (news, accessed 2026-07-17): https://www.boston.gov/news/councilors-vote-pass-amended-short-term-rental-ordinance - Short-Term Rentals in Boston: Regulation, Compliance, and Impact - BU Initiative on Cities (Nov 2025) (news, accessed 2026-07-17): https://www.bu.edu/ioc/2025/11/07/short-term-rentals-in-boston-regulation-compliance-and-impact/ --- Educational information, not legal advice. Published by STRWatch (Laniakea Technologies LLC).