The purpose of this chapter is to provide for administration
and enforcement of the Fairhaven Short-Term Rental Properties Bylaw,
which provides for registration of short-term rental units in order
to protect the health, safety, and welfare of both the occupant(s)
of those rental housing units and the general public and to maintain
the quality of life in residential neighborhoods of the Town. Further,
this bylaw is intended to provide for the orderly operation of short-term
rentals within the Town and prevent negative impacts on neighborhood
character, housing availability, house prices, availability of long-term
rental units and impacts on infrastructure services such as sewer,
parking, access, fire codes, building code enforcement and snow removal.
These regulations are also intended to assist the Board of Health,
the Building Department and the Fire Department in the enforcement
of state and local health and safety laws and regulations related
to short-term rental units and to provide a method for correcting
violations when conditions require immediate attention in situations
associated with short-term rentals.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
COTTAGE COLONY
A group of three or more detached dwellings, legally in existence
at the time of adoption of this chapter, located on a single lot,
which are customarily occupied on a seasonal basis.
DWELLING
Any building or area in a building used or intended for use
for human habitation, including, but not limited to, apartments, condominiums,
cottages, guesthouses, one-, two- or multiple-unit residential buildings/dwellings,
except those licensed under any state or local laws or regulations
other than those licensed under this chapter.
OCCUPANCY
The use or possession of or the right to use or possess a
short-term rental of not more than 30 consecutive days.
OPERATOR'S AGENT
A person who, on behalf of an operator of a short-term rental:
i) manages the operation or upkeep of a property offered for rent;
or ii) books reservations at a property offered for rent. An "operator's
agent" shall include, but not be limited to, a property manager, property
management company or real estate agent.
OWNER
Any person, as defined immediately below, who alone or severally
with others has legal or equitable title or a beneficial interest
in any dwelling unit; a mortgagee in possession; or agent, trustee
or other person appointed by the courts.
PERSON
An individual, partnership, trust or association, with or
without transferable shares, joint-stock company, a corporation which
is not publicly traded, society, club, firm, organization, institution,
estate, receiver, trustee, assignee, referee or any other person acting
in a fiduciary or representative capacity, whether appointed by a
court or otherwise, or any other combination of individuals, directly
or indirectly or through any agent, employee, stockholder, officer
or other person or any subsidiary whatsoever acting as a unit, including
a governmental unit other than the Town of Fairhaven or any of its
agencies.
SHORT-TERM RENTAL
A residential or mixed-use dwelling unit or any bedroom within a dwelling rented out through the use of advance reservations, for a fee, for a period of not more than 30 consecutive calendar days, excluding: cottage colonies, as defined herein; hotels licensed under MGL c. 140, § 6; motels licensed under MGL c. 140, § 32B; lodging establishments licensed under MGL c. 140, § 23 or; bed-and-breakfast establishments licensed under Chapter
198 of the Code of the Town of Fairhaven.
Registration is required. Short-term rentals shall only be allowed
in one- or two-family or multifamily dwelling units (excluding accessory
buildings).
A. No owner shall rent, or offer to rent, any short-term rental prior
to registering with the Fairhaven Building Department. No tenant or
lessee of an owner shall let or sublet a short-term rental.
B. Limits on total number of registrations within the Town shall be
64 active units or less, until December 31, 2022; thereafter not more
than 120 short-term rentals shall be allowed in the Town at any one
time.
C. Compliance. A dwelling used as a short-term rental shall at all times be in compliance with the provisions of all state and local health and safety laws, bylaws and regulations, including, but not limited to, §
198-24, Noise, litter and smoke standards, §
198-23, Home occupations, the Fair Housing Act, MGL c. 151B, and local equivalents and regulations related thereto, and all other regulations applicable to residential dwellings, except as specifically set forth otherwise herein.
D. Application required. The owner of the dwelling shall be required
to complete a Fairhaven short-term rental registration application
with the Fairhaven Building Department. The applicant shall also provide
proof each short-term rental is registered with the Massachusetts
Department of Revenue.
E. Abutter notification. For an initial application to register a property
as a short-term rental, the applicant is required to send notification
informing abutters within 300 feet and provide proof to the Town of
the notification using one of the following methods: hand delivery;
certified mail, return receipt requested; certified mail. Proof of
abutter notification shall be included with the application.
F. The Fairhaven Building Commissioner shall, in accordance with the
above subsections, issue a certificate of registration which shall
expire on the following December 31, provided that the certificate
may be renewed each year. The Building Commissioner will share the
list of short-term rentals with the Police and Fire Departments.
G. Registration renewal. Short-term rental registrations shall be renewed
annually upon payment of the renewal fee.
H. Fees. The fee for a short-term rental registration or a renewal of a registration shall be $200 and thereafter a schedule of fees for permits as authorized under Chapter
190 shall be as established and revised from time to time by the Board of Selectmen.
I. Nontransferability. Short-term rental registrations shall be granted
solely to an owner and shall not be transferable or assigned to any
other person, legal entity, or address. The registration does not
run with the property; it shall be terminated upon sale or transfer
of the property for which the registration has been issued.
J. Determination. Any person aggrieved by a determination made by the
Building Commissioner regarding a registration may file an appeal
for review to the Select Board for a hearing and redetermination.
The Town-issued registration number shall be included on any
listing offering the short-term rental for rent.
The Town shall provide information to each registered operator
summarizing the regulations for short-term rentals. For each short-term
rental registration issued, this will include, but shall not be limited
to: the name and twenty-four-hour contact information of the operator
or operator's agent designated in the application, requirements
for trash removal, occupancy requirements, parking, and noise restrictions.
The operator shall:
A. Provide each occupant a copy of the provided information; and
B. Post the information, along with the short-term rental registration,
in a conspicuous location within the short-term rental.
The maximum number of occupants in a short-term rental shall
be two per each bedroom, plus an additional two total.
The operator or operator's agent shall be responsible for
keeping a register containing the name of the occupant who is the
leaseholder, total number of occupants, and dates of occupancy. The
register shall be retained for a period of two years.
The following are not eligible to be rented or offered to rent
as short-term rentals:
A. Dwellings designated as below market rate or income-restricted, that
are subject to affordability covenants, or that are otherwise subject
to housing or rental assistance under local, state, or federal law;
C. Dwellings subject to any requirement of local, state, or federal
law that prohibits the leasing or subleasing of the unit or use of
the unit as a short-term rental;
D. Dwellings that are the subject of any outstanding building, sanitary,
zoning, or fire code violations, orders of abatement, stop-work orders,
unsafe orders, or cease-and-desist orders.
The privilege of receiving or holding a short-term rental registration
is contingent upon the timely payment of municipal and district taxes,
fees, assessments, and charges. Failure of a person to comply with
this requirement shall be cause, after notice and hearing pursuant
to the requirements of MGL c. 40, § 57, for denial, suspension,
amendment, or revocation of a short-term rental registration for any
and all property in which the person holds a direct or indirect ownership
interest, as above defined.
Short-term rentals shall be subject to a mandatory initial inspection
and thereafter inspections every two years by the Fairhaven Building
Commissioner, Fire Department, Health Department or other duly authorized
authority from the Town.
In addition to, and not in lieu of, the penalties that may be
assessed pursuant to this chapter, the Fairhaven Building Commissioner,
after notice and public hearing, may suspend, revoke or modify any
or all registration approvals issued hereunder to an owner for violation
of these regulations or of any conditions imposed by the Fairhaven
Building Commissioner, notwithstanding that a violation may have been
found with respect to one or more, but not all, of the registered
properties held by an owner. These remedies shall be nonexclusive.
Any person aggrieved by a final decision of the Hearing Officer
and Fairhaven Building Commissioner with respect to a notice of violation
or any other order issued under this section may seek relief therefrom
in any court of competent jurisdiction.
If any occupant, operator or owner violates any provision of
this chapter, the owner may be subject to a fine in accordance with
the following: $150, first offense; $300, second offense and each
subsequent offense. Each day that a violation exists constitutes a
separate offense.
The Town may enforce the provisions of this chapter by any or
all of the following: the noncriminal disposition process of MGL c.
40, § 21D; by seeking to restrain a violation by injunction;
and by filing a complaint in any court of competent jurisdiction.
The Fairhaven Building Commissioner may adopt regulations, policies
and procedures for the implementation of this chapter.
Each provision of this chapter shall be construed as separate. If any part of this chapter shall be held invalid for any reason, the remainder shall continue in full force and effect. In the event of a conflict between this chapter and any other chapter of the General Code of Fairhaven, this Chapter
190 shall control.
The Town Administrator shall publish annually in the Town of
Fairhaven Annual Report on the statistical data relating to short-term
rentals.
Short-term rentals subject to the provisions of this bylaw are
subject to the room occupancy excise under MGL c. 64G and short-term
rental community impact surcharge.