Is a short-term rental legal in Boston, MA?
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 |
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).
What you need to operate
| Requirement | Authority | Cost | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short-Term Rental Registration (Inspectional Services Department) | City of Boston Inspectional Services Department (ISD) 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). |
$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)) |
source |
| Liability insurance | Commonwealth of Massachusetts (G.L. c. 175 s. 4F) 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). |
Minimum $1,000,000 coverage per short-term rental (premium varies) renewal: Must be maintained continuously while operating |
source |
| Business certificate (DBA) with City Clerk | City of Boston City Clerk 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. |
Not verified | source |
| Abutter notification | City of Boston Inspectional Services Department (ISD) 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)). |
Not verified | source |
Taxes on guests & hosts
| Tax | Rate | Applies to | Platform collects | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State room occupancy excise | 5.7% (5% statutory base plus 0.7% surtax) | Rent for short-term rentals of 31 or fewer consecutive days | Yes | source |
| Boston local option room occupancy excise | 6.5% | Rent for short-term rentals located in Boston | Yes | source |
| Convention Center Financing fee | 2.75% | Rent for room occupancy (incl. short-term rentals) in Boston, Cambridge, Springfield, Worcester, West Springfield, Chicopee | Yes | source |
| Community Impact Fee (short-term rentals) | 3% | 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) | Yes | source |
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 [news]
What we could not verify (5)
- 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.
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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)
- Short-Term Rentals - City of Boston Inspectional Services Department (official, accessed 2026-07-17)
- M.G.L. c. 64G s. 3 - Room occupancy excise (5% base rate) (official, accessed 2026-07-17)
- M.G.L. c. 64G s. 3A - Local option excise (Boston up to 6.5%) (official, accessed 2026-07-17)
- M.G.L. c. 175 s. 4F - Short-term rental $1,000,000 liability insurance (official, accessed 2026-07-17)
- 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)
- 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)
- Councilors vote to pass amended short-term rental ordinance - Boston.gov (news) (news, accessed 2026-07-17)
- Short-Term Rentals in Boston: Regulation, Compliance, and Impact - BU Initiative on Cities (Nov 2025) (news, accessed 2026-07-17)
A markdown mirror of this page lives at /boston-ma.md for AI tools and researchers.
STRWatch publishes educational information about short-term rental regulation, verified against the official sources linked above as of the date shown. It is not legal advice, and rules change — a city can move between our verification passes. For decisions with money at stake, confirm with the authority linked above or a local attorney.