Boston Airbnb Regulations

Regulations

To be eligible to be a short-term rental the property must be classified for residential use.

Things the property can not be:

Hotels
Motels
Executive suites
Congregate living complex
Elderly housing
Group residence
Homeless shelter
Orphanage
Temporary dwelling structure
Transitional housing

The Property being rented out must not have more than 3 violations within 6-months.

These violations can include:

Short-term Rental ordinance
Excessive noise
Improper disposal of trash
Disorderly conduct

Plus, there can't be any outstanding violations on the property. The property can't be a "Problem Property", as stated by the City of Boston Ordinances.

Things the host is responsible for having:

The registration number (given by Inspectional Services) should be displayed on every listing
business certification
Renew short-term rental license yearly
Signage with fire extinguishers, fire exits, and pull fire alarms
Not renting to multiple parties for a given time
Notify neighbors about the property being registered as a short-term rental within 30 days after obtaining the license

Properties have to be registered even when:

The property is vacant
The property is being renovated
Tenants are relatives who are 18+ years
No rent is collected

The property doesn't have to be registered if: Owned by a city, state, or federal agency, Rooming house, Dorm, Lodging house. For more information visit the City of Boston Website

Licenses

The deadline to register a short-term rental by is July 1st.

Login to the Rental Registration Portal and provide the follow information:

Property owner contact information
Contact information for the property manager (if applicable)
Numbers of properties being register
Total number of units at property (if applicable)
Purchase date of property (if bought after Jan 1st, 2013)
If the property was built before or after 1978
The fire escapes for the building (if applicable)
The smoking policy.

For more information visit the City of Boston website about registering the short-term rental

Fines And Fees

To register the property the fees are:

25$ for first-time registration of the property
$15 for renewal of the license.

No more than $2,500 for each building or $5,000 for each complex. If the short-term rental violates one of the laws created by the City of Boston, the short-term rental license will be suspended.